You Wish You Could Forget
by CaitCatastrophe
Summary: Konoha is the ideal place to live in the Fire Country. But when Sakura Haruno, high school sophomore, find herself in an unexpected situation, she learns that with any "perfect" community, there are people hiding deep, dark secrets. AU ItaSaku
1. Chapter 1

Yes, this is a high school fic, simply because I'm tired of reading shitty ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming mine will be amazing, I'm sure it will be far from it. I just wanted something different. This is actually very much based off my personal high school experiences and the kind of town I've grown up in. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

And this will be rated M for a reason. You've been warned.

* * *

Konoha was one of the many small, wealthy towns in the Fire Country, and it's residents were anything but average. Everyone had a perfectly green lawn with a sprinkler system and vibrant flowers that were striking, but not over-powering. Gardeners were seen outside regularly to tend to the flowers or to trim the bushes into intricate patterns. The homes were painted once a year and the asphalt driveways were repaved as necessary. Because white picket fences were _so_ out, iron fences were seen surrounding some of the yards of people with young children or pets. Attractive wreaths and decorations adorned the homes during the appropriate times of the season, though many people dismissed this idea due to the tackiness of such objects.

The town was filled with doctors, CEOs, and lawyers who had come from all over the world because they had heard of the raving reviews Konoha got. The small-town feel was accompanied by the big city, hot shot families that soon began to change the atmosphere that was once very rural and farm-like. But, family-owned businesses were common and a fresh farmer's market was seen on a side street every Wednesday. Big city meets small town soon created a huge appeal to anyone outside the town's walls, and now there was practically a waiting list for a home. The mayor, Tsunade, was completely unwilling to expand the town, because she believed Konoha would then lose the recognition it had worked so hard to gain.

All the children attended a private school from the time they were in preschool to when they reached eighth grade. By the time they hit high school, anyone from within Fire Country was eligible to attend the boarding school, but only by going through a rigorous admission process. Just like the rest of Konoha, the boarding school appeared to have everything. It offered mathematics classes from pre-algebra to the most advanced statistics, and the same went for English, history, and science. Besides providing outstanding education, the school also had a variety of elective courses. French, Spanish, and German were offered for all students, as well as twenty different art classes. All students were encouraged to take the difficult AP classes; mainly to keep up the school's fantastic reputation. Though it was not required, most all students participated in some sort of sport, ranging from cross country to ultimate Frisbee.

Kids were expected to go with their parents to parties, to mingle with their friends as their parents talked about the business they were somehow all involved in. One was always expected to maintain stunning looks and exceptional grades, and embarrassing oneself in public was absolutely_ not_ acceptable. Drugs and alcohol, though in no way encouraged, were mainly ignored unless the user managed to shame themselves and their family. Konoha was all about looks and prestige, anyone who was brave enough to defy either of those things was either extremely stupid or extremely brave.

Sakura Haruno was the adopted child of the mayor. Her parents had chosen to leave Fire Country in pursuit of new challenges, allowing to stay back with their family friend, Tsunade. The two got along very well, living happily within Tsunade's large home with their Russian Blue kitty, Veronika. If being the mayor's "daughter" didn't set her apart enough, her looks certainly did. Her shocking, naturally pink hair contrasted nicely against her pale, creamy skin and beryl green eyes. She was already very skinny, and running cross country for the school only added to her lean body. Despite being thin, she sported muscular legs and arms, as well as enough abdominal muscle to be noticed during swimsuit season. Her breasts were fairly large for her small body, though if she was at the proper weight they wouldn't look nearly as big. Her clothes would be classified as easy to move in and comfortable, though they never once lacked style. She was often seen wearing brands like American Apparel and Urban Outfitters, but she specially ordered her accessories online because of the lack of store variety Konoha offered. Sakura currently attending the boarding school in her sophomore year, at age fifteen, and her life was about to take a turn she never thought possible.

* * *

"First period, English with Asuma Sarutobi. Second, AP Fire Country history with Shibi Aburame. Third, drawing two with Hana Inuzaka. Fourth, honors biology with Guy. Fifth, lunch. Sixth, honors pre-calculus with Yamato. Seventh, painting one with Kakashi. Eighth, photography with Kakashi again. Ninth, French three with Kurenai," Sakura Haruno listed off her schedule to her best friend, Ino Yamanaka, as they walked through the sophomore parking lot of Konoha Boarding school.

"Shoot Sakura! You have three art classes, two honors ones, and an AP history?! How'd you even manage the last one?" Ino asked, her bright turquoise eyes wide.

Ino had been Sakura's best friend since the two both ran cross country in seventh grade. They hadn't been friends from the start; they actually at first had had a huge rivalry to who was the better runner and who could win the heart of the most sought after boy, Sasuke Uchiha. Once the two had realized how ridiculous they had been acting, they were inseperable. Since then Sasuke had left Konoha [or gotten kicked out, some say] and Ino and Sakura were constantly switching places as four and five on the varsity cross country team. Needless to say, the two had worked out their differences.

"They just started last year offering AP Fire Country History to sophomores; I thought it would be smart to take advantage of it. And as far as honors and art classes, you_ know_ I can handle those Ino," Sakura replied with a smile. She knew her schedule was packed, and her grades would be hard to maintained along with the stress of cross country, but she could do it. She always had and she'd be damned if she ruin her GPA.

"Just don't overload yourself too much, girl, AP classes are scary shit. With all those seniors and juniors? That's way intimidating," Ino said, her face skeptical, "I'm pretty sure Shikamaru is taking that class too though. I bet you guys'll be in the same class!" Shikamaru Nara was Ino's long-time boyfriend. He was super lazy, but practically a genius. It was no surprise to Sakura that he was taking the class as well.

"I hope he is! It'd be great to have a friend in something so stressful, especially when it comes to group or partner projects," Sakura said, grinning at her friend.

The two girls continued to walk and talk until they reached the school, asking about the courses the other was taking. They opened up the large doors of the building, and walked to the locker rooms. After locking up their duffel bags filled with running gear, sharing a locker of course, they made their way to the mirrors close to the stalls to critique each other.

"How do I look?" 

Sakura looked at Ino. She was so lucky. She could easily pull of any look, preppy, punk, even nerdy, and look amazing. She had fair skin, bright blue eyes, and naturally light blond hair that hit her mid-back. She was built like Sakura, but was at a normal weight and had bigger breasts. Her style was directly taken from Teen Vogue, frilly, but still classic and beautiful. Ino's outfit today consisted of a Nicole Miller black t-shirt dress that, right around her hips, went out into a multi-tiered lacy skirt that showed off her shapely legs. She wore an array of gold chains, some with small animal pendants, because she always had a fix for little creatures. Her black, faux-suede slouchy ankle boots topped the outfit off, making her look stunning, as usual. Her blond hair cascaded straight down her shoulders like a waterfall and a small gold bobby pin held her bangs off of her face. Her blue eyes were expertly lined with charcoal eyeshadow and very black mascara, enhancing their color. Her lips were left without the lip gloss that was commonly used among their peers, and instead moisturized with a red-tinted chapstick. She twirled and smiled with her straight, white teeth.

"I love it! The little gold dragon ring you're wearing is my absolute favorite!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling when she saw Ino beam.

"Thank you! I wanted to look extra nice for the first day, obviously. But I gotta give it to you Sak, you look amazing!" Ino replied, applying another layer of her cherry chapstick.

Sakura wore a deep, emerald green American Apparel v-neck that offset her own light green eyes, and had a pair of black and white houndstooth cycle shorts underneath, since the shirt went about six inches about her knees. She wore a pair of simple quilted black flats, of course having insoles in them so her feet wouldn't hurt during the evening running practice. She wore only one necklace, a belly-length silver owl with large black eyes. Her pale skin was perfectly moisturized, and had a light sheen under the fluorescent bulbs of the locker room. Her rose colored hair was in a high side-pony, the shorter layers falling out and framing her heart-shaped face. Beryl eyes were lined with black, and had mascara to match. She wore nothing on her lips and her nails were self-painted black.

"Thanks Ino," she smiled, "I'm pretty much obsessed with v-necks right now."

Ino laughed, "you certainly pull them off! It's just the right amount of cleavage. Not too conservative, not too skanky."

"Well what can I say, that's what I was going for," Sakura joked, her pale cheeks slightly flushed. The girls chuckled and left the locker rooms just as the first bell rang, signaling them to their first classes.

"Where are you headed again?" Sakura asked, already have completely forgotten her best friend's schedule, much to her dismay.

"Spanish two, see you at lunch Sakura!" Ino called over her shoulder as she walked to the math wing of the school.

Konoha Boarding School was made up of six different main hallways: mathematics, science, social studies, language arts [English], visual arts, and foreign language and performing arts. The building was three stories high, two wings on each floor. Luckily, the students were given ten minutes between their forty-five minute classes, which was ample time to get from one floor to the other. The first floor was for math and science, the second for social studies and English, and the third was for visual arts and foreign languages/performing arts. The theater was large enough to hold four hundred people, and the cafeteria held two hundred students comfortably. There were two gymnasiums, used only for indoor sports and the freshmen gym classes. The main office, located at the front of the school, branched off into eight different, smaller offices. The front was for attendance and to make appointments with one of the four guidance counselors. The other four offices were for the principle, vice principle, the nurse, and the dean of students, who was in charge of the punishment for those who had acted out.

As Sakura made her way upstairs to the English wing, she saw _him_. Him as in, Itachi Uchiha. She felt her face flush once again and her heartbeat increased tenfold. God, why did he do this to her? Itachi was Sasuke's handsome older brother, who was a senior this year. He had long black hair, always pulled back into a low ponytail, with shorter pieces around his face. His eyes were the darkest of navy blue, and he had a smooth, blemish-free, beige complexion. He dressed in simple black skinny jeans, a white [probably Hanes] v-neck, a black zippered hoodie, and a pair of checkered slip-ons. For someone who's parents were the wealthiest in Konoha, he certainly didn't dress the part. The Uchihas had uncovered a plethora of oil in some far off region during the oil crisis years ago, and since then had made millions. They had enrolled both their sons in the excellent schooling program that Konoha offered, and expected great things from both of them. Sasuke, who was Sakura's age, had been found by some quack named Orochimaru, who claimed to have an educational course outside the Fire Country that gave great opportunities for scholarships when it came to college applications. Sasuke had somehow managed to string his parents along with the plan, and had left with Orochimaru in eighth grade. Sakura hadn't seen, or heard, of him since. She figured the reason he had gone in the first place was to finally beat Itachi, since he had apparently never lived up to his older brother's own accomplishments. It had to be rough being in his shadow all the time.

Regardless, Sasuke was gone and Itachi was here and, _oh God_, Sakura was having trouble breathing. Itachi had been in both of her art one and drawing one classes last year, and she knew he was extremely talented. Being as shy and guy-inexperienced as she was, she had never actually talked to him, but was captivated by his good looks, smooth voice, and amazing artistic skills. Last year, after she told Ino about her massive crush on him, she found some things out. Ino relayed to her some deep, dark secrets the guy had, how she had even found out she had no idea, but apparently Itachi had both a drinking, partying, and drug-using problem. The news spooked Sakura. He never looked hungover or under the influence, but maybe she was just not looking hard enough. But even after finding out, she observed him and kept willing him to talk to her, which, naturally, didn't happen.

But now, as she stood here looking at him, she was even more dumbfounded by his beauty. How could he possibly have gotten better looking? His hair was shiny, but not greasy, and the smirk adorning his face was just so damn adorable. Her breath hitched when she saw him look at her, and she quickly looked away, speeding to where she knew her English class was. Sakura was sure her face was as red as a tomato, and she went to the restroom in hopes for her heart to slow down.

Sure enough, her face was red, something that was very unattractive with her rosy hair. She let out a few breaths, and felt the blush recede and her pulse slow. She walked out, her confidence back up, and made her way to English with Asuma. It was only the first day. Now was not the time to be freaking out. Not yet.

* * *

Sakura's first six classes had all been a breeze. As predicted, Shikamaru was in her AP history class, as well as her honors biology and pre-calculus. Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzaka, and Naruto Uzumaki had all gotten lucky with lunch together, sitting happily at their usual round table by the large-paned windows. It was comforting to Sakura to be with her group, since she had difficulties finding familiar faces in her other classes. As she made her way up to the third floor for painting, she vaguely wondered who would be in her painting class. Sakura loved art of all kinds, but didn't think painting was a strength of hers, and was nervous for the semester course. She delicately stepped up the stairs, wishing she had broken in her shoes before wearing them to school. Cross country tonight was definitely going to be painful.

She finally made it to the painting room, smiling brightly when she saw Kakashi sitting as his desk lazily. Kakashi Hatake was only in his thirties, but had a wild mane of gray hair. He kept a black scarf over his mouth, pulled up to his nose, but, surprisingly, it didn't impair his speaking anyway. Always wore a simple black headband to keep his crazy hair back, part of it covering his left eye. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans, that were slightly baggy, and a simple white button down, only half tucked in, and a pair or scuffed black slip-ons. No one ever question his clothing choices; he always asked his class on the first day not to. It was lucky that the school's administrators didn't care about the staff's apparel.

His viweable eye crinkled when he saw her, a sign that he was smiling underneath his scarf.

"Good afternoon Sakura, has your first day been well? Any teachers I need to beat up for you?" he lightly joked, ruffling her hair after she walked up to him at his desk. Kakashi had always loved her as a student, and he had automatically become her favorite teacher. Anyone who loved art as much as her was definitely awesome.

"Of course it's been good Kakashi! And I'm actually pretty happy with all my teachers, but if I have any trouble I'll let you know," she replied, winking at him to let him know she was joking. She took her seat in the front of the room, wondering who the other three peers of hers would end up sitting with her.

As the class began to fill up, she became nervous. She didn't recognize very many people, and no one had decided to sit with her yet. By the time the bell rang for class to begin, _still_ no one was sitting with her, and the class was full up. Sakura furrowed her nicely plucked eyebrows, she didn't think she had loser status at all. But as she looked around, everyone there was with someone who was in their clique, so it sort of did make sense. Nobody from her clique was taking painting, so of course she would have nobody to sit with and talk to. As she looked on the bright side, at least that meant she could focus more on putting out the best work she could. Sakura was thrown from her thoughts as she heard Kakashi begin speaking.

"Alright class! You probably had me for art one last year, but it's a requirement that I tell you about myself and what this class is-"

"Excuse me for being late, but I have an admit slip, Kakashi," Sakura heard a velvety voice say. _Oh God_. Her heart skipped a beat. There he was. Itachi Uchiha was in her painting class, leaning against the doorframe, white slip in hand, his face blank. His eyes never left Kakashi's as he walked up and handed his his slip. The teacher glanced at it, before nodding and tossing it in the trashcan behind him.

"Ah, Itachi, nice of you to join us," Kakashi said, smiling at the senior. Sakura narrowed her eyes; it looked like Itachi was the other favorite of the gray-haired teacher.

"Where would you like me to sit, sir?" Itachi asked coolly, his eyes scanning the room, resting only momentarily on Sakura.

"Hmmm," Kakashi thought out loud, "Why don't you take a seat to Miss Haruno? I'm sure she would appreciate your company," he said, gesturing to her. Itachi took his seat directly across from her.

As Kakashi took attendance and went through the first day spiel, Sakura looked out the window, unwilling to glance at the beautiful being sitting only a mere three feet away from her. Now what was she going to do? There was absolutely no way that she would be able to focus with _him_ sitting so close to her! She was silently cursing Kakashi for assigning Itachi's seat for him, when she found a hand thrown in her face.

"It's nice to see you again, Haruno," Itachi said, his intense gaze pouring into her. She suppressed a shiver; it was like he was staring into her soul. Her already big green eyes got impossibly larger as she stared at the hand in front of her, shocked that he would want to shake her hand. She lifted her hand carefully, placing it into his, giving it a firm shake like she had been taught. A strong handshake meant confidence. She was confident. Itachi Uchiha didn't scare her shitless. No way.

"It's nice to see you as well, Itachi," she said, smiling shyly, as she looked at his midnight eyes, "I'm looking forward to this class."

"I am as well. It shall be very interesting," he replied, a small smirk forming. Sakura marveled at his ability to speak so eloquently and not sound like a try-hard. Anyone else who spoke that way would automatically be labeled as a freak. She frowned. He certainly didn't talk like someone who had a multitude of problems. Kakashi had managed to take a whole forty minutes to introduce himself and the class itself, and Sakura could tell that everyone was getting bored. As everyone awaited the shrill sound of the bell, Kakashi finally said something that actually mattered.

"Before I forget! Your first project will be with of a partner; someone who sits at your table. Sakura, Itachi, since you two are the only ones at your table, you will be partners. The rest of you may pick your partners. This project is simply to see your painting ability and where you're at. You have two and a half weeks to complete the piece. You may do a close up portrait, or full body; I'll leave that to your creative brains. Two and a half weeks, don't forget! You may use the remaining five minutes to find your partner and work out times to work, and remember, have fun with it, but it is still a grade!" Kakashi said, smiling. He went back to his desk, leaving the students to their own work.

Sakura inwardly groaned. Seriously? She would have to paint a picture of Itachi Uchiha. She had no problem with drawing, and painting a face wasn't too bad, but of him? She couldn't even look at him without shaking, how was she supposed to paint a masterpiece? She glanced over at him, watching as he wrote something she couldn't see in a small notebook. He looked up and she once again found herself unable to break his stare.

"I'm free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as long as it's after five. And I can work any time on the weekends. When's good for you?" he asked bluntly, beginning to put away his notebook and pencil.

"Uhm," she cursed herself for not saying something more intelligent, "I have cross country everyday until four, so five on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays is good for me. And I can do anytime on the weekends as well. Would you liked to maybe start today?" She did her best to not sound hopeful, she did not want him to think she was some desperate girl who begged for his approval.

"Today would work very well for me, actually. I have a small studio at my house that I work in, would you like to come over so we can brainstorm and get started?" he replied, tiliting his head slightly.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," she said, once again giving a small smile as she felt her cheeks heat up. Itachi suddenly passed a small piece of paper over to her.

"That's my address. I look forward to seeing you tonight, Haruno," he said, just as the bell rang. 

Sakura sat there, the paper crumpled in her hand. Itachi was looking forward to seeing her tonight. Her. And she would get to talk to him about art and how he wanted to be painted and how she wanted to be painted and everything. _Oh God_. She could not wait to tell Ino.

* * *

That wasn't too bad right? Read and review please!3 (:


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

This was it. Sakura stood outside the Uchiha mansion. In just a short time, she would be in Itachi Uchiha's house, alone, with him. _OhGodohGodohGod_. This was either going to be really good or really bad. The remainder of school had been relatively uneventful, other than Itachi also being in her photography class with Kakashi right after painting. Luckily, Hinata was sitting with her and Itachi was with his friends so there wasn't any actual contact. Thank God. Cross country had been uneventful as well, Coach Guy had been kind and given them an easy day, knowing how rough the first day back could be. She had spilled everything to Ino about her painting class, resulting in the blond girl squealing about how excited she was that Sakura might actually get a guy. Gee, thanks. Sakura shook her head to break her thoughts, and lifted her hand. Just as she was about to knock, the door flew open, revealing a woman who had to be Itachi's mother.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry dear! You must be Sakura, I'm Itachi's mother, Mikoto Uchiha, but you can call me Mikoto." The woman was talking so fast and moving and before she knew it she was pulled inside the large estate. The entire Uchiha home was covered in shades of teal blue and charcoal, giving it an elegant, yet modern, look. Sakura looked up the high, cathedral ceiling to see an intricate chandelier hanging, the glass sparkling like diamonds. She immediately thought of how rude she was being, completely ignoring Mikoto as she stared at her expectantly, and removed her shoes and held her hand out.

"It's nice to meet you Mikoto, I'm Sakura Haruno. You have a lovely home, I think the colors are amazing," she said, smiling, as Mikoto grinned and shook her hand fiercely. Itachi's mother obviously had some serious energy, but she was kind and charming.

"It's nice to finally meet you Sakura! Itachi told me all about you and the painting project you're doing together; sounds fun!" Mikoto replied, leading her into the kitchen. The entire kitchen was filled with stainless steal appliances and dark, cherry wood cupboards and drawers. The table looked set for dinner, with simple white plates and silverware and napkins. Sitting at one of the seats, was a man, Sakura assumed to be Itachi's father and Mikoto's husband. He stood up, his gaze set on Sakura.

"Sakura Haruno.. You're the mayor's girl aren't you?" he said, his eyes soft as he looked at her. He had the same complexion as Itachi, and even the same creases on his face. No doubt Itachi got more of his father's genes than his mothers.

"Yes, sir, I am. It's nice to meet you," she replied, thrusting out her hand in effort to be polite. He took it cautiously, and shook just as strongly as she did. He grinned.

"Good, nice handshake dear. You've made a nice first impression," he said mysteriously, before walking away. Her eyes followed his as he went down one of the many hallways within the mansion, and she heard a door softly creak open, light illuminating the otherwise dark hallway.

"Itachi?" he called lightly, "Your friend, Sakura, is here. I'm sure she would love for you to come up and actually greet her." Itachi's voice was too soft to carry, but his father nodded, and walked back into the kitchen, leaving the door open.

"He'll be up in a moment Sakura, he's setting things up still," he explained, when his eyes suddenly widened, and his face took on a slightly troubled expression, "my, I'm sorry! I forgot to properly introduced myself. I'm Fugaku Uchiha, I apologize for not saying something sooner."

"Oh, that's good old Fugaku, always forgetting his manners," Mikoto giggled, winking at Sakura while Fugaku chuckled lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Sakura said politely, hoping she didn't look nearly as nervous as she felt when he heard footsteps. _Shoot_. She glanced to the hallway Fugaku had come from, her throat tightening when she saw Itachi coming her way. He had taken off the black hoodie he'd had on earlier than day, and wore only the white v-neck. She could just see the faintest definition of muscles through it, and reprimanded herself for staring so blatantly.

"I see you've met my parents, Haruno," Itachi stated coolly, "I hope they didn't harass you too much."

"Oh Itachi!" Mikoto scolded, "be nice to your guest. Sakura's a sweetie. You two have fun working and such!" she glanced over at Sakura, her eyes smiling, "Sakura, are you allowed to stay? Dinner will be ready in just an hour or so."

"Of course, Mikoto," she replied, happy to get to spend some more time with Itachi's kind parents, "Tsunade would have no problem. Thank you so much!"

Mikoto and Fugaku waved the two away, smiling to each other. As Itachi lead he down the hallway he came from, Sakura suddenly began to freak out. What if she said something wrong? Or embarrassed herself beyond fixing? So many things could go wrong! She looked down at the outfit she had chosen, her brow furrowing in contemplation. She had chosen a simple pair of dark skinny jeans and a pearl gray v-neck, her owl necklace hanging. Her shoes had been discarded at the doorway, and she looked down at her mismatched socks. _Why do I have to be such a dork_? She mentally reminded herself to sort through and fix her sock drawer; Itachi probably thought she was an incompetent idiot who couldn't even properly dress herself.

"Here we are," she heard him say, his eyes lacking any sort of interest.

Sakura looked around the room. It was medium sized, and square. The walls were a light brown, and darker brown couch was up against the wall opposite to the door. Next to the couch was a wooden dresser with six different drawers on them, most likely holding art supplies. A large easel was against another wall, and different colors of paint obscured the original color of the wood. Canvases of different sizes stood behind it, and most looked self-stretched. A small table stood next to the easel, holding a much-used palette of acrylic paints, currently covered in plastic wrap. A vibrant light had been placed next to the easel, bathing the room in a light blue glow. At the last wall, opposite to the easel, was a sink, small working area, and oven. Under the sink were cupboards, one opened slightly to reveal different types of clay, as well as tools. A long table was next to the sink covered with about fifteen different cameras, ranging from what looked to be the first Polaroid and the most high-tech Nikon that had just come out. Overall, the studio was phenomenal.

"Itachi, this is amazing. It must be so exciting to work in a space so well equipped," Sakura said softly, her hands shaking as she looked at him warily.

He smirked, "my mother and father have been very generous and supportive of my hobby," he walked towards the wooden dresser, pulling open a few drawers, "shall we get started?" He pulled out a few small sketchbooks and some graphite pencils, offering one of each to her.

"Have you thought of anything you might want to do?" she asked, opening to book carefully. She ran her hand over the blank page, reveling in the familiar feeling.

"I wanted to do you as one of the Seven Deadly Sins," he replied simply, opening his own, more worn, sketchbook. He flipped a few pages, finally finding the one with his thumbnails. "I was thinking either lust or sloth, seeing as that they have the potential to be executed in most interesting ways."

"Well," Sakura thought for a moment. Her, as a lusty woman? That was practically impossible. Sloth would be much easier, even though she was anything but lazy. "You could always do both, but on the same canvas."

Itachi pondered this, looking down at his book, "that's a good idea. I will paint you as both lust and sloth." She smiled, collaborating with a fellow artist was always something she enjoyed.

"Have you thought of anything for your piece?" he asked, picking up his pencil, his hand beginning to move furiously across the page. He looked up only a few times, his face impassive, while she considered her possibilities.

"I wanted to do a close up," Sakura said carefully, unsure of his reaction, "something very natural and soft, preferably outdoors. Maybe we could head to the lake some time so I could take some photos, and then go from there?" His idea was something so strong, and he could probably do it very well. He probably thought hers was stupid and lacked originality, which, in a way, it did.

"That would be fine, Wednesday we should head out there. I would also like to take a few shots of you, so I have something to paint from when you aren't with me," he replied, still sketching madly. He finally put his pencil down, a handed the book to her, "this is how I will be painting you. If you're uncomfortable with it, you must let me know now," he said, his face serious. Sakura felt her heart speed up, why would she have a reason to be nervous?

Sakura looked at the book, her eyes widening considerably. She looked up at Itachi with scared eyes. Was he serious? The paper in front of her had a thick graphite line dividing it in half diagonally, and even though it was all in shades of gray, Itachi had written small notes for colors, textures, and whatnot. On one half was Sakura as lust. Her hair was done in large barrel curls, and she was craning her neck back, glossy lips pursed. It appeared as though she was wearing a sort of bustier, her breasts pushed up in a way that was certainly not normal. Her eyes were half-lidded, covered in thick eye liner. The other half was Sakura as sloth. She was laying down on a couch, a mid-thigh length dress flowing over the edge. Her hair was relaxed, her eyes on the paper staring into her own. Her arms were above her head, elegant and graceful. Both drawings were incredibly detailed for the short amount of time it took Itachi to draw them.

"So," she gulped, trying to swallow her nerves, "I don't own clothes like this. Would you like me to buy some for the purpose of this picture?" She wasn't so nervous for sloth as she was lust. The idea Itachi had was damn near raunchy, and she hoped he wouldn't be censored on it. And how was she supposed to pull something like that off? _Shitshitshit. _

"I will take you shopping on Wednesday for your outfits, and then we can head to the lake for your photos of me," Itachi replied, his face still indifferent, though it looked as he was trying to gauge her reaction to his idea. He knew it was racy, but if she couldn't handle something outside her safe boundaries there was no way she would make it in the art world, or, for that matter, the real world in general.

"Oh, okay. Thank you," she said, surprised that he was willing to pay for her clothing. It only made sense though, it was his painting after all. She knew he just wanted to produce the best work for Kakashi as possible. Of course. This was strictly business.

"Itachi!" the two heard a voice call from upstairs, "come on up with Sakura! Dinner's just about ready!" Mikoto walked away, leaving the door open so the pair could exit. Sakura shakily got up, still thinking of Itachi's daring idea. As the two walked upstairs silently, Sakura smelled the mouth-watering smell of home cooked food, and her stomach grumbled. When was the last time she had eaten? School had become a bit of a blur, mushing with cross country. Lunch was the last time she had eaten. Right.

"Did you two decide on what you would paint?" Fugaku asked, as the two took their seats at the table, his eyes calculating.

"Yes, father," Itachi replied first, "I will be painting Sakura as two of the Seven Deadly Sins; sloth and lust. She will be painting a closeup of me in a natural scene outside." He stared at his father, as if waiting for him to question his choice. Sakura looked between the two, twiddling her thumbs in her lap as she waited for Fugaku's answer.

He merely chuckled, "well you have a good time with that Itachi. I'm sure it will turn out great," he began to dish up the food Mikoto had cooked for everyone, dropping the subject. The family and Sakura exchanged casual banter, though Itachi never once said a word to her, and she never said anything to him. Why couldn't he be as kind and easy-going as the rest of his family?

* * *

Sakura quietly opened the door to her's and Tsunade's large home. As she removed her brass key from the lock, she thought over her experience at the Uchiha household. Mikoto and Fugaku had treated her as kindly as they would their own daughter, and Itachi remained cold and aloof. She wondered if she just bothered him. He never seemed angry, just distant or annoyed. She hoped his people skills would improve over time as they worked together, or she would have some serious issues.

As she walked into her house, she was surprised to see the dining room light on, her guardian sitting there with a glass of wine. Sakura inwardly sighed, it was no doubt Tsunade loved her alcohol, she just wished she didn't love it quite _so_ much. The mayor raised her head, her amber eyes shining, her mouth set in a grim line. Sakura automatically knew she was in trouble.

"Where have you been?" Tsunade asked, trying to stay calm. She was known for her fiery temper, and was doing her best to control it.

"I was at the Uchiha's," Sakura began, scuffing her foot on the floor.

"The Uchiha's! Why on earth would you be there?", the blond woman scoffed, "don't tell me Sasuke's come back and you're chasing him around again."

Sakura bristled at Sasuke's name, Tsunade knew her better than to bring it up. "Actually, no. Their oldest, Itachi, is in my painting class. We're working on a partner project so I will be with him every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And occasionally on the weekends. It's fun."

Tsunade's hard look immediately softened, her mouth smiling. "Well good. Itachi's a good young man, I had the pleasure of meeting him once. So charming, and handsome too!" Sakura blushed, quickly excusing herself and going upstairs to her bedroom.

Sakura's room had been decorated in shades of green, charcoal, and hints of teal. It was simple, elegant, and relaxing. She dropped her backpack next to her white-painted wooden desk, letting out a groan as she flopped onto her queen-sized bed. Her dark gray Egyptian cotton comforter was fluffy, and she was thankful for Tsunade not to bother her anymore. She was exhausted. The first day was always awful, and everything with Itachi just added to it. He was so good looking, she had to give him that. But she got nothing from him. Nothing. No emotion, no expressions [save for a smirk or slight frown], and no conversation. She had to get this boy to open up, and fast. She could not be expected to complete a project with a complete ice cube for two and a half weeks. Stupid Kakashi. Stupid project. Stupid _Itachi_.

She finally got up, walking over to her desk lazily, pushing the power button on her white Macbook. There hadn't been any homework assigned, she might as well see if there was anything on her Facebook account. She waited for the machine to power up, taking the time to straighten up her already immaculate desk. Her Zebra pens were lined up next to a small planner, ready in case an important event suddenly came up. Her Bose speakers held and charged her silver iPod Nano and her cell phone was charging next to them. She absentmindedly picked it up, flipping it open. A text from Ino, one from Facebook, and a reminder. Sakura frowned; she wasn't on the social site her peers were so obsessed with enough to have anyone post anything or friend-request her, having information sent to her phone was just easier. She didn't even bother to open the message, she would see whatever was on there in a couple minutes anyway.

She opened up Safari on her laptop, typing the URL for Facebook into the browser. Her eyes flicked from the screen to her cell phone as it vibrated quietly, Ino's name showing up on the small LED screen on the outside. She sighed, Sakura loved Ino to death, but she was exhausted and just _knew_ that Ino would be asking about her night at the Uchiha's. She hit the "ignore" button dejectedly, knowing she would get a verbal take down from her best friend tomorrow.

Sakura turned her attention back to her Facebook homepage that had finished loading. Her eyes skimmed it, finally resting on the _new message!_ icon. Moving her mouse to it, she clicked on, yawning as the page loaded to her inbox. _Ino Yamanaka_, of course. The rosette girl sighed, would her best friend give her just one moment of peace? She was exhausted and wanted to just curl up in her fluffy down comforter. Marking the check box next to the message, she hit delete and logged out. Ino could bother her tomorrow when she had a little more energy to deal with it.

Walking over to her walk-in closet, Sakura selected her, as she liked to call them, lady boxers and a cami, discarding her current outfit and slipping into them. She crawled into bed, just barely able to get her limbs to move properly. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

"Forehead!" Sakura heard Ino yell out of her car window as she pulled up Tsunade's driveway the next morning, "Get your skinny ass in here!"

"Cool it Pig!" she shouted back, amused that the two were reverting to their childhood nicknames for each other. She walked down the brick sidewalk, carefully making her way to Ino's Honda. The blond girl had admitted that it wasn't the most glamorous or classy car out there, but with 45 miles to the gallon, looks were sacrificed for efficiency. And with driving Sakura everywhere, it certainly paid to have something better on gas.

"So," Ino began, "I send you a message on Facebook last night because you ignored my calls, an _important_ one at that, and you never even answered! I even saw that you were online! Care to explain missy?"

Sakura knew her friend was making light of the situation, but her tone still held an authoritative seriousness to it, "I was exhausted, I didn't mean to just ignore. What was so important?"

"Even though you didn't reply to me, I'm surprised you of all people haven't heard yet," Sakura saw the playful glint in Ino's eyes as she spoke. She was teasing her. Paying her back for not answering her the day before.

"Dammit Ino, just tell me," she replied, frowning at Ino as she suddenly became worried. This was serious.

"Chill Forehead, no need to get testy, I'll tell you," she said as she turned into the high school's sophomore parking lot. Ino was one of the lucky few in their class to have their license, and be able to drive to school. It was only because she did a sport though, for everyone else there was a six month waiting period from the time they received their license. She cut the engine and unbuckled her seat belt, looking at Sakura seriously.

"He's back Sakura," she said, her voice lowering slightly.

"What? Who's back? You're going to need to be a little more specific for me."

"God, do I have to spell it out for you? Him. Uchiha. Sasuke. He came in last night," Ino replied, beginning to gather her things and open the car door.

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke. Her childhood crush. Her first love. _Itachi's_ little brother. She felt the small car get even smaller as she fought for a breath. One question clouded her normally crystal clear mind.  
_  
What was he doing back?_

* * *

Chapter two's evil cliffhanger!  
Sasuke's back, what will happen next?  
Thank you for the support, 'till next time!  
:)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

"Sakura? Sakura!" Ino lightly slapped her arm, bringing her back to reality, "You can't sit here forever freaking out about it, face your fears. Besides you have Itachi now, and he is one sexy piece of man! And why have you not yet told me about your evening with him?! I'm dying to know!"

"Ino," Sakura struggled to find her voice, "Will you come over after practice so I can tell you then? Let me just get through this day first.

Her friend's turquoise eyes softened, a smile of understanding appearing. "Okay Sakura, you can tell me then. Just don't forget!"

"I won't Pig, let's head in," she replied, exhaling the breath she didn't know she had been holding in. The pair made their way into the large building, as always making their way to the locker rooms to put their things away and critique each other on their looks.

Sakura looked down at her lime green, silver, and black Nike high-tops, and then at Ino's stylish, and popular, chesnut Ugg boots. How could two people so different become such good friends? It wasn't even just their looks, it was there overall personalities. Ino was loud, outgoing, flirtatious, and always optimistic. Sakura had been, a long time ago. Now she was quiet, shy, and preferred being alone. Of course, she always enjoyed the company of her best friend, but she still cherished the time she got just by herself.

"You know, I sort of think taking the time to talk about our outfits is sort of pointless," Ino said softly, breaking Sakura's thoughts.

She looked up, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that," her face broke into a wide grin as Ino laughed.

"It was fun last year, and on the first day of school I like doing it. How about we just save it for those important days?" she asked, her eyes dancing.

"Sounds good to me!"

The girls dropped their gym bags off in the locker room, carefully locking their things up. It wasn't often that people stole things from the lockers, but you could never be too safe.

"Are you coming Forehead?" Ino questioned, frowning.

"You go on ahead Pig, I just need to take care of something," Sakura replied, pretending not to notice Ino's skeptical look. The blond girl walked out, quietly shutting the heavy door behind her.

Sakura checked to make sure she was alone, and then made her way over to the mirror. She lifted up the bottom of her charcoal v-neck, examining her stomach. It was flat, and she had the slightest notice of abdominal muscle. Her ribs stuck out on the side as she turned to profile. She bent over at her waist, taking note to how her spine stuck out of her skin. She tucked her shirt back into her high-waist black cotton skirt from American Apparel and fixed the small owl pendant that hung delicately from her neck. _I'm not anorexic_, she told herself as she picked her backpack up off the floor. _I eat like a horse, but run nearly forty miles a week and have a high metabolism, _she convinced herself. Sakura knew she was skinny, but if she could run as much as she did and not be in the hospital for anemia, then she was fine.

She walked out of the locker rooms just as the bell rang, summoning her to first period. She made her way up the back stairwell, turning the corner sharply. BAM. Sakura blinked, embarrassed that she had not been paying attention so much that she had run into someone. She looked at the black cotton shrouding her vision, and then up.

Itachi smirked down at her.

"I-Itachi!" Sakura stuttered as she felt her face flame, "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

"Haruno," he said calmly, "Just watch where it is you're walking. See you later in painting" He lightly grabbed her shoulders, moving her to the left so he could continue walking down the stairs.

Sakura kept silently as she watched his descend. Itachi Uchiha had just touched her. Sure, it was her shoulders so he could get to his first class, but still! She hated sounding like a lovesick puppy but, my god, he was beautiful and _she wanted him_. Bad.

The second bell rang, signaling that she was late for English.

"Shit!"

* * *

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl turned her head as she walked into the lunch room, grinning when she saw Ino wave her over. She walked over leisurely, glancing around the cafeteria casually. It was any normal day. Students were eating, doing their homework, and catching up after the three months apart. As she approached the group's lunch table, she noticed that Naruto wasn't there. No surprise. The blond boy was always getting into trouble, and even though it was only the second day, Sakura wouldn't be surprised if he was already in the principle's office.

"Hey guys," she smiled warmly, "Where's Naruto? Already make it to the principle's office?"

"I know the principle called him down, but I don't know why," Shikamaru replied, picking at his food with a bored expression on his face.

Sakura nodded, before taking her seat next to Kiba. He smiled at her, his pronounced canine teeth shining under the fluorescent lights. Kiba had shaggy, dark brown hair, and two triangular markings on each cheek. He had told her that it was his family's tradition, once one became sixteen. Sakura wished her family had some cool tradition like that.

"How's sophomore year been treatin' ya, Sakura?" he asked, picking up his turkey sandwich.

"Well I can't quite tell you that yet Kiba, it's only the second day," she responded, sticking her tongue out playfully. She didn't have any feelings for her dog-loving friends, but it was always fun to flirt with him a little.

"Hey look!" he exclaimed, diverting his attention to the doors to the large room, "Naruto's finally here!"

Sakura looked over, her eyes widening at what she saw. He was there. _Sasuke_. Naruto was walking in with Sasuke Uchiha, his mouth going a mile a minute as he lead the raven-haired boy to their lunch table. The Uchiha looked bored and annoyed, but she didn't care. What was Naruto even doing, bringing him to sit with them?!

"Kiba!" the blue-eyed loudmouth shouted from across the room, "Come bring everyone to greet the bastard with me!" Sakura almost smiled at Naruto's use of Sasuke's nickname. Almost.

She shakily rose from her seat, following Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata to where the pair were standing. She suddenly became very aware of how she looked. Was her hair alright? Did she have something in her teeth? Sakura did her best to shake off her nerves, plastered on a fake smile, and greeted the two casually.

"Hi Naruto," she said sweetly, "It's nice you're finally back Sasuke. How long has it been again? Four years?" Her voice was sugary, but there was a bitter edge that Sasuke picked up on. His eyes narrowed.

"Sakura," he replied, his voice monotone, "I see you haven't changed at all."

"Well, Sasuke," she shot back, her fists involuntarily clenching, "What can I say, old habits die hard."

"Uhh, guys, guys," Naruto jumped in, waving his hands about to distract the two teens caught up in their glaring match, "This is a fun reunion, right? Forgive and forget! Let's eat something, eh? I'm dying for some ramen!"

Sakura turned away from Sasuke first, breathing hard. Why did she let him affect her this much? She was over him, God dammit!

The group sat back down at their table, and Sakura was thankful to be sitting between Ino and Kiba. She would not tolerate sitting next to Sasuke, no how, no way.

"So, Sakura," Ino said, her eyes glinting with hidden mischief, "How's that art project with Itachi going? I would _love_ to hear about it now."

"Oh, uhm," Sakura stumbled over her words, before realization dawned on her. She knew what Ino was doing. She was trying to show Sasuke that Sakura had gotten over him, and that Itachi was just that much better than his younger brother.

Sasuke froze, his water bottle inches from his lips. It had worked. Sakura inwardly grinned.

"It's going great Ino," she smirked, glancing at Sasuke, "Itachi's a great artist, and he has such a great idea for how he's going to paint me."

Sasuke's left eyebrow twitched.

"Oh?" Ino smiled, "What's he doing? And what are you painting him as?"

"He's painting me as two of the Seven Deadly Sins; lust and envy. And I'm painting him in an outdoors-y landscape, it'll be a close up portrait of him."

There was a loud screech as Sasuke pushed his chair back angrily, before he stood up and began to storm out of the cafeteria. Naruto stood up, backing away from the table to where the boy was headed.

"Oh, s-sorry guys, you know that bastard," he grinned sheepishly as he stumbled over his feet, "I'm sure he's got those first day jitters, I'll just follow him to make sure he's okay!"

He ran off, waving his hands and yelling, "Sasuke-bastard!" all the way out of the room.

"So," Sakura began, "Who had Asuma for English and wants to let me copy their work?" 

* * *

"Good afternoon, Sakura, how's your day been so far?" Kakashi greeted her pleasantly as she walked into his classroom for painting. He was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped up as he read what appeared to be a simple novel. Sakura knew the gray-haired man well enough to know that he was just disguising the porn, Icha Icha, behind the novel's cover.

"Hi Kakashi, my day's been great," she grinned, swiping the book's cover off to reveal, none other than, the latest edition of Icha Icha, "Didn't they tell you what sort of reading material was appropriate when you have down time?"

"Dear Sakura," he replied, swiftly taking the book cover back before she could react, "Don't you see the title of this? It's completely appropriate material." She could tell by the way his visible eye crinkled that he was smiling at her, and she giggled softly before taking her seat in front of him.

There was still eight minutes until the late bell would ring, so Sakura took the time to get started on the pre-calc homework Yamato had assigned. She frowned at the numbers on the worksheet before scrawling the answer in her chicken-scratch handwriting. She began to move on the next problem, and the next, and the next. She grinned inwardly. This stuff was easy!

"You're doing that completely wrong," she heard a smooth voice whisper in her ear. She jumped, before turning to Itachi as he sat down in the stool next to her. She blushed when she saw his face, and he smirked.

"What do you mean I'm doing it wrong?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows furrowing together as she stuck her Zebra pen in her mouth.

"I mean, you're doing it wrong," he answered, leaning over to grab the pen out of her mouth. He turned the sheet of paper over to himself, and began to write. He passed it back to her once he was finished.

"You're on the right track, that's for sure," he explained, as he slid his black backpack over his shoulders and onto the floor, "But it's your actual solving. Simple math, Haruno. You're smarter than to be making mistakes like that."

Sakura glanced from his face to the paper, then back to his face. She felt her face flush again as she realized he as right.

"Th-Thank you, Itachi," she said quietly, giving him a small smile. His face became impassive once again as he stared out the window. The bell rang, loud and shrill, and alerting everyone that class had officially started.

"Alright kids!" Kakashi said brightly as he rose from his seat, "You all know your assignment, I suggest you get started. You'd be surprised at how fast two weeks can pass. If anyone needs any help, come see me." He sat back down, picking up his "novel" once again.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her stool, unsure of what to do. She glanced at Itachi out of the corner of her eye, and was shocked to see him looking right back at her. He smiled. Not smirked. _Smiled_. It was small, hesitant, but it was there.

"Uhh, Kakashi," she called quietly, "May I use the restroom?"

"You had ten minutes and you didn't think to go then? Get out Sakura," he joked, ruffling her hair as she walked by. She grinned, Kakashi was probably the coolest male on the face of the planet.

She walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. She had only been walking for a little bit when she heard footsteps behind her, and a voice.

"Sakura."

Said girl turned around at her name, her heart nearly stopping at who she saw.

_Sasuke_.

She quickly realized she didn't have quite as much confidence now as she did when she was at lunch and had Ino's help. He had his way to her, his pace natural, and she found herself unable to move as he did. What did he want, getting her in the middle of the hallway?

"Sakura," he spoke again as he reached her, his face mere inches from hers. His hand came out to push a stray hair of hers back from her face, and she trembled beneath his touch. _Dammit Sakura, you're stronger than that! Why do you let him affect you?_

Her beryl eyes stared in his dark blue ones, unreadable due to her conflicting emotions. She took a cautious step back, uncomfortable with the close proximity.

"Listen, Sasuke, I really need to get back to painting, there's this project we're working on and it's kind of important and you're sort of blocking my way there and I think I'll just be going," she blabbed as she stepped around him, turning to head back to the room. She felt a hand grab her small wrist, the grip damn near painful. Sakura locked back at Sasuke with wide, frightened eyes, and attempted to jerk her hand back. He wouldn't let go.

"Saku-"

"Let her go, Sasuke," the raven-haired boy's sentence was interrupted by someone with a much deeper voice, one that Sakura recognized all too well. _Itachi_.

Sakura turned around slowly as Sasuke's grip let up. She blinked at Itachi, his face as impassive as ever. He was holding a small stack of sketchbooks, and appeared to be headed in the direction of one of the drawing rooms. He balanced the stack with one arm, and then walked up to Sakura. He carefully put his arm around her shoulders, and lead her away from his younger brother.

She turned around to look back at Sasuke, only to find that he was gone.

"Itachi," she began, before he gave her a sharp look.

"Do not associate yourself with my foolish brother," his voice was cold as he spoke, and he removed his arm from her to carry the books properly.

Sakura was about to protest, before she nodded slowly. She didn't want to start a petty fight with Itachi, she'd had enough of_ both _Uchihas for the day. She had one question though, what did Sasuke even want with her?

-------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The next day ran by smoothly, with no bother from either Itachi or Sasuke. Sakura and her partner had sat during painting, working silently, but she really wished to ask him for help with her math again. He was just so good at it.

She waved to Ino goodbye as she speed-walked up to her front door, quickly unlocked it, and dashed inside. She had done something bad today. Something positively naughty. It was something so un-Sakura, that she was surprised at herself. She thought back to when it had happened.

_The bell rang, notifying Sakura and her classmates that their English class was over. She watched the students file out, and a plan slowly formulated in her mind. She'd wanted to do it for a while now, and she finally had her chance._

"Asuma?" she questioned, looking at him with innocent eyes, "I didn't quite copy down all of the notes on the board, do you mind if I stay a couple minutes to get them down?"

"Of course Sakura, I don't have a class next period" he replied smiling, "I'm going to step out and get some coffee though, I'll only be a little bit." She nodded, voicing her thanks as he walked out.

Worked like a charm.

She peered out the door to make sure no one was paying attention the the pink-haired girl all alone in the classroom. She walked over to Asuma's desk carefully and began pulling open drawers. There_. She grabbed what she had been looking for, before quickly packing up her bags and heading out. She passed the English teacher on her way out, and smiled brightly, before heading down the hallway._

Sakura quickly walked into the kitchen, opening and closing the many cupboards and rummaging through them. She finally found the pack of matches that were used for birthday cakes, and stuffed them into her purse. She ran upstairs, undressing and getting into the shower, washing her body and hair quickly. She had almost forgotten, she was meeting Itachi tonight again! They had agreed to meet at the small lake in Konoha to take his photo first, and she wanted to get there early. She knew after she took his photo, they wouldn't go shopping for her outfit, and she wasn't quite sure she was ready to go to a lingerie store with the Uchiha.

Once she finished showering, she looked through her closet, trying to decide what to wear. She settled on a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, and a simple forest green tank top. She grabbed her black American Apparel hoodie, moccasins, and purse and left the large house. She locked the door behind her, and set off for the lake. Lucky for Sakura, it wasn't far from her home, and she made it there quickly.

Good, Itachi wasn't there yet. She looked through her purse, finally finding the pack of cigarettes she had swiped from Asuma. It was common knowledge the man was an avid smoker, he wouldn't notice one measly pack missing. She also found the matches she had thrown in from earlier.

Sakura placed one of the cigarettes between her lips, and struck the match, igniting it instantly. She carefully brought the "cancer stick" [as Ino liked to call them] to her mouth, and slowly lit it. Mimicking what she had seen on television and in the movies, she took a deep drag, and automatically regretted it. She sputtered and coughed, trying to get more air into her lungs when there didn't seem to be any. When she finally found her breath, she brought the stick back to her lips, determined to get it right the second time.

"Haruno."

She looked back at the sound of her name, shocked to see Itachi standing there. Her fingers holding the cigarette trembled as she saw his gaze go from her hand, to the pack sticking out of her back pocket, to her face.

"I-Itachi," she stuttered, turning to fully face him. She felt her throat close up as he stared at her.

"What do you think you're doing," he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Smoking, Itachi," she sneered, what right did he have to judge her? "Don't act like _you've_ never done it."

His eyes widened slightly, "What I do with my spare time is none of your business, little girl."

Sakura fumed. Little girl? By God, she was going to kick the Uchiha's ass so had he wouldn't be able to walk for a week!

"Whatever Itachi," she replied, turning back around to face the lake. She lifted her still-burning cigarette to her lips, and took another long drag, hoping to show Itachi that she actually knew what she was doing. Once again, she hacked as the smoke filled her lungs, hunching over as she fought for her breath.

She felt a hand begin running slow, gentle circles on her back, and the cigarette was taken from her hands. She turned her head sideways, attempting to scowl at Itachi as he continued to rub her back. She found it quite hard to do so when she was bent over and still unable to breathe. She had one question though. _When did he get so close_?

Itachi put an arm around her shoulders, supporting her carefully, and slowly walked her over to one of the benches alongside the lake. He sat her down, dropping his arms as soon as he was sure she was breathing alright again. He stared at her, his face unreadable. Her once-straight pink hair was messy, and her striking green eyes seemed duller than they had before. Her cheeks were tinged pink, and if Itachi had been a different man he would have chuckled at the similarities between them and her rose locks. She finally leaned back, her eyes closing as she took in deep breaths. Her chest rose and fell slowly, and a small hand went up to run through her hair.

Sakura finally opened her eyes, sat up straight, and gave Itachi a hard look. Her eyes were once again fiery, her complexion back to it's normal, white state.

"You didn't need to do that," she said, her eyes blazing again. They were slightly red, he noticed, accenting the intensity of the green even more.

"I know," he replied simply and she looked taken aback by his bluntness, "It just seemed as though you were struggling, and I was just offering some help. Next time you're choking I'll be sure to let you do so."

"Why you.." she glared, her temper getting the best of her, "Ugh! Dammit Uchiha! You're the worst. I wish I had never been partnered with you!"

"Well as much as I'm not fond of the pairing, it's how it is. And you can either be a baby about it, or you can make the best of it. If you choose the latter, I would recommend not smoking, to start."

Sakura looked at him, bewildered, before lowering her head in shame. She was so stupid, what had she been thinking? Itachi _had_ shown that he had a heart and soul, and maybe even that he cared about her a little but enough to help her out. She figured she owed her partner an apology.

"Itachi," she began, looking at him with eyes filled with guilt, "I'm sorry for being so rude. I know you were trying to help.. Thank you." She looked at him, and he gave a small, sincere smile. All was forgiven.

"Apology accepted, Sakura," she smiled back at him, and he stood up, "So, how about we get working? We've got a lot to do." She stood up with him, happy to have made things right once again.

* * *

Sakura had gotten her picture of Itachi, and it was perfect, though it wasn't what she had originally planned. She originally wanted to take it from behind him, with his head turned around looking straight at her. She taken a few like that, before she had asked him to lie down. He had given her a strange look, before complying. She herself had gotten on her stomach, her Nikon camera mere inches from Itachi's face. After taking a few shots, she had found the one that just spoke to her. It was a profile shot, with his eyes closed and lips slightly parted. The trees in the background blended nicely into the gray sky, and his raven hair stood out from the rest of the mostly pale landscape. There weren't too many shadows on his face, mostly due to the dreary day it was, and Sakura was slightly worried. With shadows she had so many more colors and shades, but without them she, for the most part, would only use a few colors. She made a mental note to mix enough paint to cover his entire face multiple times over.

Now the two of them were headed into the "downtown" part of Konoha, which was really just a few streets smothered in stores of all kinds. They were walking around a part Sakura was unfamiliar with; it was a little more gritty and grimy than she was used to. She saw stamped out cigarette butts in the gutter, and the people who were responsible for stamping them out stood nearby, no doubt chain-smokers. She wasn't surprised by their haggard appearances, she wasn't so naive as to be ignorant as to what cities were _really_ like. Sakura was simple surprised that Konoha of all places had dirty places like where she was currently at.

Konoha was known for being classy, a proper place that was perfect for raising children and for people looking to start their new lives. Not very many people knew, or had seen, the parts of the town that weren't so proper. They existed everywhere, regardless of where you went. Just like people, places had their dirty secrets that they tried, as ultimately failed, to keep hidden.

"Uchiha!"

Sakura's thoughts were broken by a loud voice yelling out Itachi's name. She turned in the direction of the sound, her gaze resting on a small group of guys, who seemed to be around the eldest Uchiha's age. She actually recognized them from the school hallways and a couple classes last year.

The one who had spoken was the one with the long blond hair, he looked a bit like Ino. Oh, what was his name again? Dei-something. Sakura bit her lip in thought, racking her brain for the answer. Deidara! That was it. His sapphire blue eyes sparkled as he brought a bottle of water to his smirking lips. His hand not holding the bottle was in the back pocket of his dark skinny jeans that were sagging off of his slender frame. His black sneakers were scuffed and muddy around the edges and his navy blue t-shirt was frayed at the hems, but it did make his already piercing eyes stand out even more. He was leaning slightly on the red-head next to him, who Sakura remembered as Sasori no Akasuna. His dark, fiery red hair stood out the most, and his light amber eyes complimented his beige skin perfectly. He wore gray skinny jeans, a black v-neck, and black slip-ons. Sakura noticed the cigarette hanging from his lax fingers, as well as the few butts that were scattered at his feet. How someone could handle that much smoke in his lungs, she had no idea.

"Where ya been Itachi?" Sakura heard one of the others say, and she shuddered when she saw him. It was Kisama Hoshigaki. He was tall, dear _God_ was he tall, and his skin was blue for Christ's sake! Not like royal blue or anything ridiculous like that, more of a light, gray-ish blue. To be blunt, Sakura thought he looked like a shark. He had strange markings on the side of his face that resembled gills, and his teeth were unnaturally pointy. If that wasn't enough, the way he was leering at her made her want to put on a potato sack to cover herself. It was just gross. She vaguely wondered how on earth he found clothes to fit him properly. He was big, not fat, just very tall and muscular. Surprisingly enough though, his straight-legged jeans fit him great, and his illegibly band t-shirt looked comfortable enough on him. Even his shoes looked right, considering his monstrous feet. It wasn't until Itachi spoke that Sakura stopped staring at the three.

"This is Sakura Haruno," he stated simply, artfully ignoring Kisame's question, "We're working on an art project together and we're down here to buy some supplies we need to complete it successfully."

"Sakura Haruno, yeah?" Deidara said, his mouth scrunching to the side as he looked her petite body up and down. She blushed under his gaze, and lifted a small hand to wave at the three. She couldn't help but notice his small speaking quirk of saying "yeah" involuntarily. It was cute.

"You like art, Haruno?" Sasori asked, his eyes calculating as he looked at her. She was relieved to notice that _his_ eyes stayed on her face, unlike Kisame and Deidara. She already like Sasori, he seemed a lot like Itachi. His personality was calm and collected, and he also appeared to be very well mannered.

"Yes, Sasori," she replied softly, stepping forward to hold out her hand. He looked surprised at first, if surprised meant his eyebrows slightly rose, before he also stepped forward. She shook his hand firmly, giving him a shy smile, to which he returned.

"I believe I've seen your work in the school's display cases, you're quite good," he said, amused as a soft blush set across her cheeks, "I myself am not much of an artist, I do more theater. Deidara, however, is quite skilled with ceramics and sculpture."

"Deidara," Sakura stood to face the blond, "I would love to see some of your work. I'm a little lacking in the clay department, maybe you could give me a few pointers?" She smiled, bringing a hand up to rub the back of her neck.

"Sure thing Sakura," he answered, "Any day you're not busy with Itachi here we can do work." He winked at the end of his sentence, and she brought a hand to her mouth to quietly laugh at his actions.

Sakura felt slightly bad for not speaking to Kisame, but he was just so damn scary she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to talk to him. Unfortunately for her, he decided to do the talking.

"So, Sakura," he began, running a large hand through his blue hair, "If you ever get tired of this guy," he jerked his head in Itachi's direction, "You know where to find me."

"Where, the ocean?" she clapped a hand over her mouth, shocked that she had spoken before thinking. __.

He laughed, his loud voice filling her ears. "Hahaha! You're a funny one Haruno, how many times do ya think I've gotten that one?" Sasori and Itachi chuckled quietly, while Deidara laughed with Kisame. She grinned, before breaking out into a laugh as well. Whew.

"Well, Sakura," she heard Itachi speak, turning her head to regard him, "We should probably get going. Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, see you tomorrow in class. Let's go."

"Bye guys!" she called over her shoulder as they walked away, smiling as she waved. They smiled as well, and she giggled as she saw Deidara put up the "call me" handsign to her.

Sakura and Itachi walked down the street together and she marveled at the different shops she had never seen before. There were all kinds of specialty shops, some for guns, some for shoes, and there were even nifty thrift shops scattered about. She looked at the clothes and accessories that one of them held; there were so many colors and styles and patterns, why hadn't she been down here earlier? Her eyes were wide with the idea of being able to go into the unique store to do some major shopping. Along the cobblestone road were small stands, some selling fruit or vegetables and others selling homemade items. She was amazed. Vendors sold slef-made jewelry, art, kitchen utensils; if you wanted, Sakura was sure you could find it here somewhere.

"Sakura," Itachi said, turning his head slightly to look down at her, "We're here." She looked up at the small store that they had stopped in front of. _A Touch of Lace_ was it's name. Sakura frowned, her face scrunching up slightly. What on earth were they doing here? In the windows were a colorful array of nightgowns and other pieces of clothing, many of which looked far too racy and uncomfortable for _anyone_ to wear to bed. Realization suddenly dawned on her. This was where they would be buying her outfit for Itachi's "lust" picture. She looked at him, swallowing audibly. He smirked back as he noticed she understood what they were planning to buy.

"Let's go."

He began walking, obviously expecting her to follow. She skittered along beside him, struggling to regain her composure. Itachi spoke again as they proceeded to enter the small shop.

"I will need to try a few things on and allow me to see. And don't feel self-conscious, you'll be covered completely."

She stared at him once again, her mouth opening and closing like a fish before she groaned softly.

_What had she gotten herself into?_

* * *

I apologize for this chapter being all over the place. There was so much I wanted to incorporate because of the direction I want this story to go in. I hope I didn't confuse any of you at all.  
Thank you all for the kind words.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Happy Easter everyone. A nice long chapter for ya'll.

* * *

It would be an understatement to say Sakura was embarrassed as she walked into the small lingerie store with Itachi. _He_, of course, was completely cool and collected, like he walked into trashy underwear stores every damn day.

"You go grab a few things and try them on. I'll tell you what is or isn't okay," he stated, making his way to the dressing rooms, "I obviously cannot pick for you, seeing as I don't know your sizes, so I will trust your judgment for this."

She nodded in approval, slowly making her way to the right side of the store to start. The racks that littered the store were organized by size and then color. Sakura thought back to the sketch Itachi had done for the painting and to what she generally thought of when she thought of 'lust'. When she thought sexual, she thought crimson. However, she wasn't too fond of how the color looked with her rose hair. There was always violet, a deep, pretty purple. Maybe even sapphire, or emerald could work. She would have to stick to cool colors; warm ones just didn't work with her hair, eyes, and complexion.

Sakura made her way to the rack that held pieces that were made for women with a 34B bust, and then moved to where the blues, greens, and purples were. She began sifting through the racks, her face flaming. She was only _fifteen_ years old. She should not even be in close proximity of a store like this!

"May I help you find anything in particular?"

The rosette girl turned at the sound of the voice. One of the salesladies stood behind her, her pale gray eyes shining. Her deep blue hair was up in a high ponytail, the shorter layers framing her heart-shaped face. The women, Akemi [her name tag read], smiled softly at her, obviously expecting an answer. Sakura stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head quickly.

"Oh! Uhm. I'm looking for a sort of, uh, bustier? Or corset maybe? I'm a 34B, and have a pretty tiny waist.. It needs to be something in cool colors though," she replied nervously, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Ah, of course," Akemi said, still smiling. She shuffled through the rack a bit, before pulling out a couple tops. She handed them carefully to Sakura, before walking to another part of the store, beckoning the small girl to follow her. Her perfectly plucked eyebrows furrowed together as she looked at Sakura momentarily, before looking through another rack. She grabbed a few more pieces, and then she politely asked Sakura to step into one of the dressing rooms. The pink haired girl walked in timidly, and was about to shut the curtain when she felt a hand grab the silky fabric, stopping her.

"Bustiers and corsets are difficult to put on," Akemi explained, "I'm here to help. I'll also do my best to let you know what does or doesn't work." Sakura thought for a moment before nodding in understanding. At least she didn't get stuck with one of the male employees. Talk about awkward.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name dear."

"Sakura."

Akemi smirked, "It suits you. It's nice to meet you. Let's start with this one, ne?" She held up a midnight blue corset, cocking her head to the side. The corset was beautiful. It was made of a satin-like material, and, where Sakura assumed the boning was, there were thick black stripes of black satin. The front stayed together by hooks, where the back was laced with black ribbon. It was simple, but still sexy and endearing. "Alright Sakura, take your shirt and bra off."

Once she did, Sakura stared at herself in the mirror, and cursed herself for being so self-conscious of her body.

"Lift your arms up," Akemi said, having unlaced the corset and holding it out. Sakura complied, and repressed a shudder as Akemi pressed the undergarment to her chest, pulling on the sides tightly. She then began the tedious process of lacing up the top, carefully looping the ribbon through the small metal hooks. She pulled on the black satin every now and then, to make sure the corset was as tight as it could be. She finally finished the lacing, tying the ribbon into a neat bow at the bottom. Sakura looked at herself in the mirror once again, before glancing sideways at the blue-haired women.

"What do you think?" She bit her bottom lip, unsure of what she should be thinking right now. The corset fit, it wasn't too tight, not too lose. Her breasts were pushed up slightly, giving her supple cleavage.

"Hmm," Akemi pondered for a moment, "Corsets are meant to make the wearer's waist look smaller. You already have such a tiny waist, so it's not quite working for you. I have a feeling the bustiers will be even worse; all they really are are just bras that have a bottom. If you don't mind me asking, is there a specific reason you're wanting to purchase one?"

"It's for a painting a friend of mine is doing. He's with me now, should I just go ask him?" Sakura questioned, nervous about Itachi seeing her in such a garment.

"Yes, that would probably be for the best. I'll go with you to explain everything."

The two walked out of the dressing room, one of the bustiers in Akemi's hand. They approached Itachi, who was sitting at the other end of the line of dressing rooms, looking bored. Sakura looked at the floor as they walked up, her face flaming.

"So, you're Sakura's friend?" Akemi asked. Itachi gave a short nod, encouraging the women to continue. "Well, Sakura told me she needed either a corset or a bustier, and what she's wearing now is a corset. They're meant to hold the waist in, and she already has a very small waist, so it would be a pointless buy. A bustier, on the other hand, is like an extended bra, but I imagine that it would practically fall off the poor girl; it wouldn't fit properly in the waist. Now, I don't know what the requirements or extra details are for this painting, but you might want to consider just a bra or a babydoll. They might work better."

"A bra will do just fine."

Sakura sucked in her breath, blinking at her partner in surprise. Wearing a bra had to be _ten times worse_ than a bustier or corset.

"Alright!" Akemi said cheerfully, leading Sakura back to the dressing room they had come from. "You stay here Sakura, I'm going to go fetch you some new things to try on!" She walked away, leaving Sakura to sit in the dressing room by herself. She tried to calm her nerves. It was just a bra, no big deal. It was just like wearing a bathing suit, and she was sure at least a hundred guys at her school had seen her in one at the local pool during the summer. The only difference was that now Itachi would be the one seeing her. Itachi Uchiha. Her crush. It was kind of a big deal.

Akemi poked her head in the room, smiling with her eyes closed. "I brought you some new things. I'll help you take off your corset and then leave you to change." Sakura raised her arms up, allowing her to begin undo the piece of clothing. "So," she said, "That guy out there? He's a cutie. Are you two in a relationship or anything?"

Sakura stiffened, "No, we're just partners for a painting project. I barely know him."

"Ah, well you two would probably make a good couple. I hope everything goes well," Akemi replied as she finished unlacing the corset. She took it, as well as the others and went to leave the dressing room. "I wouldn't be surprised if things ended a bit unexpectedly, Sakura." With that, the women walked out, leaving Sakura to ponder her words.

_What did she mean by that?_

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Itachi to choose what he wanted Sakura to wear. It was a deep, emerald green baby doll. The top part, the part that was like a bra, was simple and plain, with the slightest bit of lace adorning the top of the cups. The bottom was completely sheer, and showed off her flat stomach nicely. It flowed out around her hips, and had come with a matching thong, though Sakura wasn't too sure she wanted to wear _that_. It, luckily, was not sheer, but the thought of wearing something so revealing in front of Itachi was enough to scare her out of her wits.

After the two had paid for the outfit, a whopping fifty-eight dollars from Itachi's pocket, they made their way to one of the smaller thrift stores they had passed on their way to the lingerie shop. Sakura was surprised and happy to know that they hadn't spent more than forty-five minutes in the underwear store, so they still had plenty of time to get the dress, go home, and take Itachi's photos.

The pair walked into the thrift shop, a small bell signaling their entrance. A man, probably in his mid-thirties, nodded at them, before turning back to the magazine he was so engrossed in. Itachi took off to the back of the store, where woman's dresses were located. He stopped in front of the racks, his eyes scanning over the options. Sakura stood awkwardly at his side, fiddling with the handles of the bag that held Itachi's purchase.

"Sakura," he said, turning her attention from the cream bag to him, "What size dress do you wear?"

"Uhm, I'm probably the smallest they have. Most likely a zero," she replied nervously.

Itachi then began searching through the part of the rack that marked '0', frowning at some of the dresses he came across. "Ah," he said quietly, "Perfect." He pulled the garment out swiftly, holding it up to Sakura.

"This should fit, but go try it on to be sure."

She looked at him, and then at the dress before nodding.

"I'll hold your bag while to change."

She handed the small shopping bag to him, before walking off to the dressing rooms on the right side of the store. She opened the paneled door carefully, stepping inside the small space, and then locking the door behind her. She looked around. There wasn't much. The walls were an ugly beige, the carpet was stained, and a dirty full-length mirror was hanging on the wall. She hung the dress up on the hook, and began to undress herself, placing her clothes on the small bench perpendicular to the mirror.

Sakura took hold of the off-white dress Itachi had picked out. She had to admit, the guy had great sense of style. It appeared to be made out of chiffon, and was still in pretty good shape. The dress was tight through the bust and down to the hips, before flowing out to about four inches above her knees. The straps were simple, and slightly layered fabric. She pulled it over her head, wiggling into it carefully. She wasn't wearing a bra, but it didn't look like she needed one. There was enough extra fabric in the bust to make up for it.

She examined herself in the mirror, genuinely surprised at what she saw. The off-white was perfect with her pale skin, and the fabric clung to all the right places. She spun around, marveling at how the fabric spread out around her. Something suddenly clicked in her mind. Her babydoll flowed out, and so did the dress. Itachi was creating unity with his painting with the clothing he was having her wear. She made a mental not to compliment him on his genius logic.

Sakura walked out of the dressing room, calling Itachi's name softly. He turned around to her, dropping what he had been looking at. He walked to wear she stood, biting her lip as she felt her nerves creep up again. He looked her up and down, asking her to turn around so he could look at the back. He frowned slightly as he stared, a hand coming to his chin.

"It's perfect."

"I-I think so too. I was just thinking about how you connected the flowing of this dress to the flowing of the babydoll. That's really smart, brilliant actually," she said shyly, smiling at him softly.

"Go change back, and so we can check out and head back."

She nodded, and walked back into the dressing room. She quickly changed out of the dress and put her clothes back on. After carefully placing the dress on the hanger, she walked out to the register where Itachi was waiting. The man working the register gave an annoyed glance over the top of his magazine, before putting the reading material down. He rang the dress up, only ten dollars, and Sakura was about to put her money on the counter until Itachi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"My painting, I will provide all that my model needs," he said simply, placing a crisp ten dollar bill on the counter. He handed Sakura the bag, and proceeded to walk out of the store. She muttered a quick thank you to the man working before speed-walking to catch up with Itachi. She walked out of the store, the cool fall air hitting her face.

"Let's go back to my house," Itachi said quietly, leading her in the direction of his car.

* * *

"There's a small bathroom down the hallway, you can change there," Itachi said as he watched her unpack the two bags. They were back at the Uchiha mansion, sitting in silence in Itachi's studio. "Wear the dress first, because I want your hair to be how it is for this shot."

"Of course, Itachi," Sakura replied, quickly grabbing the dress and making her way to the finely decorated bathroom. She slipped out of her outfit, and once again pulled the dress over her head. She gathered her clothes, careful to stuff her bra inside her shirt so Itachi wouldn't see it, and walked back to the studio.

"Is this okay?"

Itachi looked at her, his gaze calculating. "Could you mess your hair up more?" he asked, slightly quirking an eyebrow. She nodded, bending at her waist to bring her hands up to muss her hair. She flipped over quickly, looking at him.

"Better?"

"Yes. Now, could you lie on the couch for me? Flat on your back, but face me. Left arm above your head, right leg bent at the knee," Itachi instructed, heading the the table where his cameras lay. He looked carefully at what lay on the table, before picking up what looked to be a Canon Rebel. _Nice camera_, Sakura thought, before going to situate herself on the sofa. She laid down, bending herself as her partner had told her, turning her head to see said partner setting up his tripod. His head was bent as he adjusted the height, occasionally looking up at her and the position she was in.

"Alright, I'm ready," he stated, taking his place behind the camera. He was on one knee, looking through the view and adjusting the large lens he had put on the body, "How you're sitting is great, thanks for complining so easily Sakura. Do you think you could close your eyes?"

"Of course."

Sakura took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and held the pose. She occasionally heard to soft _click_ of the shutter going off, and sometimes even grunts of approval. Sakura took the time to relax and let her mind wander. She thought of Itachi's friends, Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame. She fought back a smile as she thought of Deidara. Besides looking like Ino, he reminded her quite a bit of her. He was charming, dressed well, and was extremely flirtatious. She had a feeling the two wouldn't get along if they ever met each other, with them both having such strong personalities. Then her mind went to Sasori. Quiet and polite, but he still had a dangerous aura she couldn't quite place. He gave off the same kind of attitude as Itachi. Then there was Kisame. What could she say about him? He was loud, probably perverted, and a jokester. He was just like Naruto. Sakura wasn't surprised though. She was sure every group of friends had their Naruto.

"Alright, I'm done."

Itachi's voice broke her thoughts, and when she opened her eyes he was already picking up the cream colored bag holding her other outfit. She got up and walked to where her clothes were, yawning as she went. She picked her jeans up from the chair she had left them on, and reached for the bag Itachi held.

"Sakura," he said, his voice wavering a bit, "I would prefer for you to wear the full outfit."

She froze. Wait.. As in, the babydoll, _and_ the thong? In front of him?_ Nononono_. That was too embarrassing. She couldn't do that!

"I'm sure that makes you uncomfortable, but it's for the shot. You'll be sitting down, I won't see a thing."

"O-Okay," Sakura stuttered, dropping her jeans and practically running out of the studio. She locked the bathroom door behind her, pulling the dress off over her head with shaking fingers. She pulled the babydoll out of the bag by it's straps, and swallowed. This was it. She stepped into it, pulling it up over her hips, her waist, and finally her breasts. She looked at herself in the bathroom's mirror, turning sideways. She had some serious cleavage going on. Sakura then slipped out of her sensible boyshorts, and then stepped into the emerald thong. With her messy hair, and current outfit, she looked like she had just spent the week in bed with her lover. Not like she had one.

She walked out of the room, quickly making her way to the studio again. Itachi sat on the sofa, one ankle propped on his thigh. His arms were crossed and he looked up when he heard the door click behind her. He motioned to the couch, encouraging her to sit down. She sat on the edge, legs together, with her hands under her bottom. She worried her lip with her teeth as he began adjusting his camera again.

"I decided against the curly hair idea," he said quietly, "Your messy hair works much better for lust, so I don't think you need to do anything extra. Now, as for positioning." He stood up and walked over to her, "I would like for your legs to be apart lightly, and both your hands to be together between them." When she didn't move, only stared at him with wide eyes, he sighed, and placed a hand on each knee of hers. She jumped. He pushed them apart, so there was about a foot of space from knee to knee, and then took her hands and put them between them.

With her arms like they were, Sakura noticed that it pushed her breasts together even _more_, and her cleavage was now way more noticeable. She was uncomfortable in such a position, and she was sure it was showing. Itachi paid no notice, and walked back to where his camera was.

"Sakura."

She looked up at the sound of her name, Itachi was now staring at her. "This is exactly what I was going for. Could your purse your lips a little? Yes, just like that. Alright. I'll only need a few shots." Sakura didn't know how long she stayed like that, moving slightly every so often when Itachi instructed her to. It felt like years. She had on an racy outfit, was in a rather sexual position, and just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Alright. I got the shot."

Sakura let out a breath of relief and slouched. She was tired, dammit. She watched as Itachi fiddled with his camera some more; it looked like he was going through all of the photos he had taken. He took his camera off the tripod and then began folding up the tripod. He shortened each leg, carefully unsnapping and snapping them so they stayed tight. He folded the piece of equipment up and then stood up and walked to the table holding all of his cameras. He crouched down and placed it under the table gently, before standing up and turning around to face Sakura. He looked surprised that she had been watching his movements the entire time. He walked up to her, and bent so he was at eye level with her. She sucked her breath in, once again, at him being so close to her.

"You're a fantastic model, Sakura," he said softly, the faintest of smiles adorning his lips. She tried her best to not stare at said luscious lips. "I would love to work with you again for a photo."

"Y-You too, Itachi," she blushed at his kind words, "Maybe we could collab on a photo some time? You're very nice to shoot yourself." She smiled, finally bringing her viridian eyes up to meet his own midnight ones. God, why did he do that? His eyes just bore into hers, making her feel so many things at once. It certainly didn't help that he was so close to her and she was barely even clothed.

Itachi moved his head forward more, bracing his weight with his arms, one on each side of her. He raised his body a little more, so he was nearly leaning over her. Oh God. What was he doing? What the _fuck_ was he doing? Sakura resisted the urge to lean back, instead staying frozen where she was, her eyes wide, her rosy lips parted slightly. She felt the heat creep up her neck and she was surprised she hadn't broken out in a sweat yet. Itachi, Itachi Uchiha, was going to kiss _her_. He brought a hand up to cup the back of her neck, tilting his head to the right slightly. He inched his head forward even more, his nose just barely touching the tip of hers. She was sure he could feel her hot breath, considering she could feel his. Hers was coming out a little quicker than she wanted, where his was calm and collected, as always. His lips just barely ghosted overs hers, the touch feather light. He was just beginning to move forward-

"Itachi."

Said man pulled back faster than Sakura could blink. She took her gaze off the eldest Uchiha to look towards the door where the voice had come from. She was surprised to see who was standing there. Sasuke.

He looked stunned. And _thoroughly_ pissed off. He turned quickly on his heel and walked out, not before muttering a barely-audible "dinner's almost ready" as he slammed the studio door shut.

"Sakura," she looked at Itachi again, still in shock from the events that had taken place just a few minutes before. The almost-kiss, Sasuke bursting in.. "We should go eat."

She nodded quickly, following him out of the room as he began to walk towards the kitchen.

_What had just happened?_

* * *

Dinner was as awkward as awkward could be. Sasuke was pissed, Itachi was indifferent, Sakura was too damn flustered to notice either Uchiha boy, and Mikoto and Fugaku were both completely ignorant to their sons' behavior.

"Oh! Sakura," Mikoto exclaimed, her face clouded with worry. Said girl looked up, her brows furrowing in silent question. "It turns out Konoha has a tornado warning, imagine that! I've already talked to Tsunade, and she agrees it would be best if you stay here for the night; officials are advising that everyone should stay off the roads unless it's absolutely necessary. It's supposed to clear up by morning, so I'm sure Itachi wouldn't mind stopping by your house to grab your school things and something new to wear. Isn't that right, Itachi?"

"Hn, yes mother."

Sakura was pretty sure she had visibly paled at Mikoto's words. She would be spending the night at the Uchiha household tonight, really? Could things get any worse.

"Oh, and my sincerest apologies dear, but our guestrooms are in the process of being redone, to coordinate with the rest of our home, you see. Itachi and Sasuke both have spare beds in their rooms, for when their friends come over. You may pick either to sleep in, they're fully done with sheets and blankets and pillows and such." Sakura fought off a groan at what Mikoto had said. Apparently it could get worse.

"She can stay with me," Sasuke said immediately, for the first time making eye contact with the pink haired girl. Her beryl orbs widened at his words, and she felt her hand shake. Nononono.

"Actually, Sasuke," Itachi spoke, his eyes meeting his younger brother's in a hard glare, "Sakura can sleep in my room. I need to talk more with her about our art project. We're not quite done."

"Haven't you two done enough talking," Sasuke growled, his eyes narrowing. It looked like he could barely contain his anger. Itachi looked ready to give a sharp retort when Fugaku interrupted.

"Boys," he said, his voice firm, "Enough. Allow Sakura to pick who she stay with. It's her choice, not either of yours." He looked at Sakura expectantly, awaiting her answer.

"Excuse me," she spoke softly, her eyes cast downward, "I need to use the restroom." She got up from her seat quickly, refusing to make eye contact with any of the Uchihas.

She sped off the the restroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. The Uchiha family looked at each other, before Mikoto's face broke into a scowl.

"Look what the two of you have done! Scaring away the poor girl. She's sweet and you've obviously made her feel unbearably uncomfortable," she scolded her two boys. Itachi remained unaffected, where Sasuke's scowled back at his mother.

"Itachi just can't handle the fact that someone else wants his precious _blossom_," he practically spat the last word, glaring at his brother ferociously. Itachi opened his mouth to speak, his eyes tightening slightly, before Fugaku once again interrupted him.

"I don't care whose she is, she is a guest in our home! Her guardian is the mayor, would you really want her going back to Tsunade and bashing the Uchiha family, degrading it so? Of course not. You two show her the respect she so rightly deserves, or, so help me, I will punish the both of you." His voice was firm, his fists unconsciously clenching in anger. All the table's occupants glared at one and other, until the heard the barely audible _click_ of the bathroom door being shut again.

Mikoto plastered another grin on her face as Sakura sat back down at the table. "So, dear, do you happen to have any breakfast choices for the morning?"

"Oh, anything is fine ma'am. I'll have whatever Sasuke and Itachi have," she smiled back at the kind woman. Mikoto nodded, before turning back to her dinner.

"Itachi."

He looked up at his name, his gaze resting on Sakura.

"I'll stay with you tonight."

Sasuke audibly hissed, his glare now directed at Sakura. Itachi couldn't help but smirk at his younger brother, leading the younger boy to stand up from the table, put his plate near the sink, and stormed away to his room. Fugaku also stood from the table, quietly thanking his wife for the meal, before following Sasuke's path to his room. It was about time he had a talk with the temperamental boy.

"Itachi, Sakura," Mikoto said, beginning to gather up the used dishes and bowls from the table, "Why don't the two of you go work on your project some more. Or, Itachi, you may get her settled and familiar with this house." She then promptly turned her back on the pair, settling for the cleaning of her kitchen. Itachi nodded, stood up, and began walking back to his studio. Sakura scrambled after him, trying to go over everything that had happened at dinner. What was with Sasuke's reaction? It wasn't like she even meant something to him.

* * *

It was around one-thirty in the morning that Itachi was awoken by something prodding at his side. He wearily opened his eyes, turning to the source of the poking. _Of course_. Sakura stood crouched at the side of his bed, her eyes shining from the moonlight coming in through his window. He looked her over. Her hair was messy, her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was shivering. No surprise. The shirt he had lent her to sleep in only came to mid-thigh on her and, though it was long, it was certainly not enough to properly keep her warm. He raised one eyebrow, questioning her without words.

"I'm freezing Itachi, do you have any extra blankets?" she asked quietly, and had it not been so dark in his room he would have seen the blush adorning her face.

He groaned softly, closing his eyes momentarily. "Sakura, I do not want to get up." It then looked like she deflated a little. Her shoulders slumped, and she bent her head down slightly. She was just about to turn when Itachi grabbed her arm and, before she could comprehend what was happening, she was pulled flush against her painting partner. "Body heat," he said simply, closing his eyes to doze off again.

"Itachi?"

"Hm?" He opened his eyes halfway.

"... Thank you."

He gave another grunt before closing his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him once again. He felt Sakura nuzzle up to his arm, rubbing her nose against his soft cotton shirt. He waited for her breathing to slow down, signaling she had fallen asleep. He sighed softly, before the drowsiness overtook him and he was in as deep a sleep as Sakura.

* * *

The next time Itachi woke up, his clock told him it was three in the morning. He took a deep breath, how hard was it to get some decent sleep? He didn't know why he had woken up, but something told him Sakura was awake too. He looked at her, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Her back was facing him, shielding her face from her. He was pretty sure she knew he was awake.

"Itachi," she spoke softly, finally turning to lay flat on her back, though she still didn't meet his eyes, "What am I to you?"

He was taken aback by the question. What was Sakura to him? His painting partner, obviously, but something told him that she was more than just someone to work with. That something was undoubtedly the moment where he almost kissed her in his studio. She was pretty, he wouldn't deny that; in fact, she was borderline _gorgeous_. Give her a few more years to fill out and she would have guys fawning all over her. She already had his foolish brother all over her, trying to ruin things for him. He stopped on that thought. What things did he want regarding her? A hook up? A relationship? A simple friendship? She was smart, very kind, though painfully shy, and was beautiful. She seemed like the perfect candidate for a girlfriend. And he knew she _must_ feel something for him, he did notice the blushes and shy smiles that were always directed at him. Itachi decided to just roll with it.

He still didn't speak, though Sakura's eyes were encouraging him to do so. He propped himself up on one elbow next to her head. He looked down at her, contemplating his next decision. He decided it was time he finish what he had started earlier in the afternoon.

Itachi placed his other on the other side of Sakura's face, effectively putting himself on top of her. Her eyes widened, and she made a move to push him off, though it seemed half-hearted.

"What are you-"

He cut her off with a kiss. It was soft and chaste, but it was enough to render the girl speechless. Itachi leaned his forehead against hers, letting out a soft sigh. He looked up at her, and then minute vibrant green met deep blue Sakura felt electricity run down her spine. She waited for Itachi to speak again, anxious for an explanation of some sort. He had just _kissed_ her, for God's sake! It was then that something struck the pink-haired girl.

That was her first kiss.

Sakura brought a hand up to her lips, barely touching them with her fingers. Itachi's eyes were closed again and he seemed to be concentrating on deeply breathing. She moved her hand so it rested lightly on one of his wrists, and he opened his eyes to look at her once again. They seemed to be slightly questioning; she could detect the lightest hint of a frown on his face. She leaned her head forward slightly, barely brushing her lips over his left cheek, holding them there a little longer than they probably should have been. She pulled back to look in his eyes again, only to find that they were closed. The slight frown had turned into a small, _very_ small, smile. Itachi looked so serene like that, he was completely stripped away of the hard exterior her had when she had just met him.

Itachi rolled back over, taking Sakura with him. She nuzzled into his arm again, draping her own arm across his chest to play with his hair on the other side. She felt her eyelids grow heavy and before she knew it, she was fast asleep. Itachi looked down at the sleeping beauty next to him, his expression softening. She was beautiful, and she _would_ be his.

* * *

Yes! Finally. ItaSaku for you.

:)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Many apologies for the delay.

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It was when Sakura woke up that morning that two things became very apparent to her.

One, she was not in her bed, on her sheets, or on her pillow.

Two, there were a pair of arms that were holding her against a very warm, and muscular, chest.

Everything from earlier that morning came flooding back to her. Itachi letting her share his bed when she got cold. Itachi wrapping his arms around her. Itachi kissing her. Itachi showing her a tender and loving side she didn't even know existed.

Holy shit.

It was obvious that the eldest Uchiha had feelings for her, that was clear as a day from earlier. But what was going to happen now? Would she become his girlfriend? Just a stupid fling or hookup? Or would nothing happen at all? Sakura tried to ease the nervous feeling in her stomach as she thought of the last option. She would probably be crushed if he, despite what happened, didn't want anything to do with her.

She cautiously turned in his arms to look at his face, jumping slightly when she saw him looking right back at her. His eyes held an amused glint as he gazed at her own emerald eyes. His jet black hair was messy and out of it's rubber band, grazing her shoulders softly.

"School has been canceled today," he spoke quietly, "The warning is still in effect. It's a safety caution, I suppose. My mother already called Tsunade and she said it's okay for you to stay here until the warning's been lifted." Sakura blinked. Any other day she would be giddy with excitement to be spending most of the day with Itachi but with the current situation, she wasn't too sure. On the other hand, it could be a good thing; maybe she could finally figure out what exactly Itachi wanted with her, if anything.

"Is that okay?"

She looked back at Itachi, forgetting she had never said anything back to him. His eyebrows were drawn together slightly, the corner of his mouth turned down. He probably thought she didn't want to be there with him.

"Of course it is."

Sakura disentangled herself from his arms, sitting up and stretching her arms above her head. She yawned silently, before snapping her back forward to slouch over. She looked back at Itachi laying behind her, forcing herself not to stare at his delicious, muscular chest. He used his arms to push himself up next to her, the sheets pooling around his waist. Those beautiful abs.

He stared at her, his face unreadable. The frown was still there but his eyes gave nothing away. Sakura felt herself growing uncomfortable under his intense stare, turning her head away so her pink hair covered her face. She felt his hand come up and grab her chin, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes widened--it hadn't hurt, just surprised her. He moved his hand from her chin up to tuck a rose lock behind her ear. Sakura held her breath, what was he doing?

Itachi leaned his head forward, pressing his lips softly to her forehead. He closed his eyes, letting out a barely audible sigh. He moved his hands to hold both of hers, idly running his thumbs over her knuckles.

"Sakura," he said calmly, eyes still closed, "Will you be my girlfriend?" He finally looked up and, for once, Sakura could see his obsidian eyes were clouded with worry. He was worried that she would reject him.

She tilted her head to the right, just barely brushing her lips to his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Itachi," she replied, her breath warm on his neck. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, gently pushing her back onto the bed. He laid down next to her flat on his back, closing his eyes once again. Sakura rolled over onto her side so she faced him, snuggling against his arm.

They stayed like that, side by side, in silence for a while. Sakura didn't know how long, but she felt her eyelids start to droop as she remembered her lack of sleep the past few days. She could tell Itachi was starting to doze off as well since his breathing began to slow and even out after a bit. She decided to ask one last question before the two returned to slumber.

"Itachi?" she questioned, rubbing her nose against his arm. He let out a small grunt, acknowledging her question and urging her to continue. "Why me? What's so special about me that you'd want to date me?"

Sakura felt him stir and suddenly his hand was leading her wrist to his chest and over where his heart was. He pressed her palm to his heart, and she felt it begin to beat faster under her touch.

"Do you feel that?" he murmered, his eyes still closed. She nodded against him but still didn't understand. Why did his heartbeat matter?

"That's why, Sakura," he answered her unspoken question, "Because of how you make me feel."

And then she understood.

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Sakura could count on one hand the number of times she really felt nervous walking into school.

The first day Kindergarten. The first day as a first grader in elementary school. In sixth grade on her first day as a middle-schooler. And her first day of her freshman year in high school. All the other years, she was perfectly fine. She had the first-day jitters, and was then perfectly fine. Sakura always had prided herself in her ability to acclimate.

But now as the pinkette walked through the large double doors of her high school the day after classes had been canceled, she felt the same wave of nausea and nervousness creep up on her, but for a totally different reason. The change being that she was walking into the establishment with the Uchiha Itachi, holding his hand, and wearing his shirt over her charcoal colored leggings. Said guy, of course, was as cool as a cucumber, his face stoic and his eyes straight ahead as he lead her towards where the locker rooms are so she could deposit her cross country clothes. Sakura kept her eyes cast down as she walked with him, a familiar pink staining her cheeks.

They were staring. She knew that they were. She could already hear the whispers.

Oh my God.

Is that Itachi Uchiha?

What is he doing with that pink haired girl?

"Sakura," Itachi spoke quietly, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand, "Put your things away, I'll wait out here." She looked into his dark eyes for the first time since they had walked into the building and nodded her head.

She sped into the locker rooms, dumping her bag into her usual locker and locking it up. She walked over to the mirror near the stalls, and stared at the face looking back at her. Her pink hair was in a high, messy ponytail on her head, and it was only then she realized she hadn't put any makeup on that morning. Sakura shrugged off her back pack, placing it atop the sink to find her trusty eye liner and mascara. She pushed past the books, the pens, pencils, graphing calculator, and various other school supplies. She smiled in triumph when she was able unearth her black mascara. She frowned as she sifted through her bag again. Where was her eye liner?

Giving up her frantic search, she opened her fabric pencil case to pull out the softest charcoal drawing pencil she could find. It probably wouldn't work the same, but it was better than nothing. She leaned into the mirror, and began to carefully line her eyes, finishing everything off with a few coats of her mascara. The look was significantly darker than what she normally wore, but it would have to do.

Sakura picked her bag up off the floor, slinging to back over her shoulders and she left the room. As promised, Itachi stood there waiting for her. He turned at the sound of the door opening and cocked an eyebrow at her suddenly changed appearance. He said nothing, but moved toward her and wrapped an arm protectively around her waist. She leaned into him as they walked over to one of the benches on the outside of the cafeteria. He sat her down, moving his arm to her shoulder to pull her closer to him.

"You've heard what they've said, haven't you?" he asked softly, his eyes unreadable.

"It's appalling for them to think that someone like you would even affiliate with someone like me," she replied, her voice holding a bitter note. She shuddered as she felt his hand move to play with the stray hairs at the nape of her neck. His fingers were soft and his touches fleeting, but it was enough to make her stomach fill with butterflies.

"Well they had better get used to it," Itachi replied, turning her face gently so she was facing him fully, "I don't plan on having things change anytime soon." And with that the Uchiha tilted his head and captured her lips with his. Sakura closed her eyes, reaching out her hand to interlock her fingers with his. The kiss was chaste, but it had been enough to send the rose haired girl's mind reeling. Never in a million years had she thought that she would be with Itachi Uchiha, much less he would want to be.

It really was a dream come true.

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When Sakura had heard that cross country practice that night and the meet the next morning had been canceled, saying she was overjoyed was an understatement. Not only did that mean she could actually have a life on a Friday, but it was also one of the days Itachi didn't have something going on. They had already planned for Sakura to meet at his house so he could take her out that night. Tsunade, of course, was ecstatic that her favorite girl was happy with her new boyfriend, as were Itachi's parents.

So now Sakura was standing outside the Uchiha home once again, fidgeting with the hem of her too-short black dress while she hoped she was dressed appropriate for hers and Itachi's outing. He had said to dress to go out, so she wore her "little black dress" that Ino had picked out, and was a little too tight and too short and showed a tad bit too much cleavage for her to be comfortable. She was sure Itachi wouldn't complain though. She had decided to put on her black stockings though, hopefully making the outfit a bit more modest. Her patent leather oxfords were high-heeled, but she was confident that she wouldn't fall. Her pink hair was straight, but messy and she had kept her makeup dark for the evening; her emerald eyes shone with the dark kohl smudged around them. To combat the dark eyes she had kept the rest of her face makeup to a minimal, leaving her lips and cheeks bare. Her nails were perfectly done in black, and she clutched her small handbag as she finally mustered up the courage to knock on the door.

The door was flung open to reveal Mikoto standing there, grin in place.

"Oh, Sakura! Itachi said you would be stopping by. Come in, come in; it's so chilly out this evening!" The next thing Sakura knew, she was standing in the foyer of the mansion while Mikoto ran up the winding stair case, no doubt to get Itachi. Sakura took the opportunity to discreetly reach under her dress to pull her stockings up. She didn't want to sit down and have everyone and their mother's see the lacy tops of the thigh-highs.

"Sakura," said teen looked up from her task at the sound of her name, her face breaking out into a smile when she saw Itachi standing at the top of the stairs. He looked stunning.

His coal-colored hair was pulled into it's customary low ponytail, and his dark eyes shone in the low light that currently bathed the foyer. He wore black skinny pants, but Sakura took note that they weren't denim, but instead appeared to be the same material as men's dress pants. His button down shirt was a rich wine color and he left the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. He wore simple black slip ons, but they weren't abused by the mud or weather like his usual ones. She returned her gaze back to his face before speaking.

"Itachi," she said quietly, but she knew he could hear her, "You look very handsome tonight." She watched as he gracefully descended the stairs, not once breaking eye contact with her.

Once he reached the bottom, Sakura walked forward with as much poise as she could muster in four inch heels, stopping once she stood in front of him. Itachi smirked and slunk an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him. She blushed at the sudden close contact and locked her skinny arms around his neck. She leaned forward to rest her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his wonderful, masculine sent that was perfect and purely Itachi.

"You look very beautiful yourself, Sakura," he replied, his lips just brushing against her ear as he bent his head down. She repressed a shiver at her name and the way he made it roll off his tongue in such a delicious way.

"We should get going, I have a table reserved for us."

With that, he grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers--he seemed to be quite fond of doing so--and the couple made their way out the front door. Itachi lead her to his car parked in the driveway, holding the door open for her and helping her get in. Once she was situated, he shut the door and walked to the driver's side. When he was finally in and had started the engine, he turned to look at her. She returned his gaze, her beryl eyes reflecting the moonlight that created a wondrous pale blue glow on everything.

Itachi brought his hand up to cup her soft cheek and she leaned into his touch as he ran his thumb along her cheekbone. Sakura sighed softly as she found herself lost in his midnight eyes again. He tilted her head more as he ghosted his lips over hers, as if testing the waters. Feeling bold, Sakura pushed her head forward slightly, fulling pressing her lips to his. Her eyes slid closed as he moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, angling it so he could deepen the kiss. It was something that was so innocent and shy, their lips moving together slowly as they worked up into a rhythm. He was coaxing her with those wonderful lips of his and when she felt the tip of his tongue press lightly against her bottom lip she thought she would lose herself.

Sakura had never been kissed, and she had never thought Itachi would be the one to teach her how. But as his tongue ran along her lip she found herself opening her mouth slightly, gasping when she felt his wet appendage dart into her mouth before quickly moving back out. He moved it in again, this time sliding along her own motionless one, silently persuading her to join the battle.

And so she did.

She curled her tongue up slightly when she felt his dip into her mouth again, the two colliding and curling with one and other. The brief contact sent electricity right down Sakura's spine, making her shiver as she began to move her mouth with Itachi's. She hesitantly slid her tongue against his, eleciting a hum of approval from her boyfriend. He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, gently angling her mouth so he could better explore it. Sakura had no idea her breath could be taken away by a simple kiss, but she found it was as Itachi molded his lips with his, every so often giving her bottom lip a gentle nip. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Itachi pulled away, his normally steady breathing slightly labored, and Sakura found that she was breathing hard as well. She ran a small hand through her pink hair and bit her now kiss-swollen lips. The dark haired boy's gaze seemed to slip down to her rosy lips momentarily before returning to her emerald orbs once again. He gave a small smile and squeezed her hand.

"Are you ready to head out, Sakura?" he asked, untangling himself from her and starting the car.

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It didn't take long for Itachi and Sakura to make their way to the downtown streets of Konoha. Sakura vaguely recognized some of the shops they were passing from when she had walked by them, just days before. She marveled at how different it looked on a Friday night--the street lamps illuminated the brick roads, young people littered said roads as they smoked or talked or drank, the music from different restaurants filled the air as they clashed together. It was like being in a completely new town!

Sakura didn't find it surprising at all to discover that Itachi was a very safe, polite driver. He maneuvered through the horrid traffic expertly, giving only a small frown when he was cut off from his turn into the parking lot. He did finally get in the spacious lot, quickly taking the closest spot to the exit he could find. He was a fast driver, Sakura noticed, though it wasn't unexpected because she had driven with enough teenage boys to know that they were naturally speedy drivers. Itachi always made sure he watched the road, not once allowing himself to become distracted even while he conversed with her. The sound of her door opening broke Sakura's thoughts and she turned to see Itachi holding the door open for her, his face expectant.

"Shall we?"

The green-eyed girl placed her small hand is his larger one, letting herself be carefully lifted out of the leather seat. She quickly yanked her indecent dress down as she realized it had ridden up slightly. Sakura felt her cheeks burn as she looked at Itachi to see if he had noticed, but he was already turning away and tugging her hand.

The couple looked like any other that was on the streets that night, hand-in-hand as they headed to where Itachi had made reservations. Sakura silently cursed her outfit choice; her stockings kept sliding down and she was constantly having to awkwardly pull them up. Thankfully, her boyfriend payed no mind as she did so, only occasionally wrapping an arm around her to keep her close. He stayed silent for the most part, every now and then uttering a polite "excuse me" when the human traffic jam became too much.

They finally made it to the restaurant and Sakura became nervous as she realized that the place looked quite expensive and fancy. The landscaping was perfect; the spiral shrubs trimmed to perfection, the colorful flowers arranged in the most complimentary fashion. The whole establishment just screamed elegance and the only times Sakura had ever even been in such places was when Tsunade dragged her to different mandatory functions. Before she could protest, Itachi led her inside, placing his hand on the small of her back and giving her a gentle push forward. Nearly tripping over her heels, she stumbled inside and repressed a gasp of astonishment.

To say the very least, the place was beautiful but still very modern and obviously targeted to the younger crowd. The lighting was low, casting everything in an gray-blue glow, and Sakura found it to be a happy surprise to see that the decorating was done in the same colors as her bedroom--blue-green, charcoal, and white. An extravagant chandelier hung above them, the crystals glittering and reflecting onto the different surfaces around them. Itachi's hand pulling on hers broke the pink-haired girl's thoughts, and she looked over to see the hostess smirking slightly as she eyed Itachi.

"Name?" she asked, giving Itachi a small wink and smile. When she saw him place his arm around Sakura once again, her smirk fell and her face scrunched in annoyance. Sakura couldn't help but grin at that. Hah.

"Uchiha."

"Oh, of course. Your usual table is ready, if you'd like to head on back."

Itachi nodded, and motioned for Sakura to walk with him. The two made their way towards the back of the restaurant, and Sakura couldn't help but look around again. There was a dance floor and bar in the middle of everything, dark gray suede couches lined around the edge with small tables placed in front of them. Techno blasted from the speakers and as she watched to bodies move in time to the beat, she secretly hoped that Itachi would want to dance with her. Once they made their way to his private table, it was a small shock to see Itachi's friends already sitting at the table. She recognized Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame, but there were a couple others she'd never seen. They looked to be older, which was probably why. She tried her best to not be disappointed at the fact that they wouldn't be alone on their date.

"Oi, Itachi! It's about fucking time you got here!" Sakura looked over at the sound of the loud voice, her face twisting into a scowl. Said scowl immediately left her face as she got a good look at just who had said that. She didn't recognize him, but he was pale, about as pale as her, and had to have the most striking features she had seen. His silver hair was gelled back against his skull, and his eyes were the most intense shade of violet, a color she rarely saw on anyone. His black button down was open at the top four buttons, slightly exposing a muscular chest and a strange necklace that was a circle with a triangle in the middle of it. The sleeves were rolled up, which she noticed as he brought an elbow up to rest on the table, exposing his very nice looking arms. She still found Itachi to be better looking, but, damn, this guy was pretty nice looking too.

"Hidan," her boyfriend's smooth voice snapped her back to attention. He was smirking as he looked at his friend, leading Sakura into the booth to sit next to Deidara, before sliding in himself. "It's good to see you again as well."

The man snorted, finally looking at the girl for the first time, "Is this your new girl? Thank Jashin, it's taken fucking long enough!"

"Hidan's right, Itachi, it's good to see you've finally found someone," Sakura turned at the sound of the new voice, resting her eyes on yet another good looking friend of her boyfriend. He seemed to have a slight resemblance to Itachi, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. His dark blue-black hair was long and had many layers, causing it to naturally spike up in the back. One eye was fully covered by his hair, the other dark and reflecting the light of the small lamp on their table. "How'd the two of you even meet?"

Itachi was then attacked by a flurry of questions, and answers, from the other members of the table, and Sakura giggled as she saw his expression turn from amused to annoyed to impassive within a span of seven seconds. He held a hand up, silently asking for everyone to be quiet.

"Hidan, Madara," he nodded to the two men, "The others already know this, I had assumed they told you both. Regardless, Sakura and I met through an art project at school. She also knows Sasuke from when she was younger." Hidan scoffed at the younger Uchiha's name, but was cut off by Sakura before he could insult him.

"It's very nice to meet you Hidan and Madara. I'm Sakura Haruno," she smiled at the two, holding her hand out across the table. Both men returned the gesture, and Madara even took the chance to kiss her hand.

"I'm pleased to know by younger cousin has found such a well-mannered lady to suit him," he said with a handsome smile, his eye twinkling. So that was it. They were cousins, which explained to likeness in appearance.

"Why, thank you Madara," she replied, smiling at him as she leaned more into Itachi, "Deidara? I thought you were going to teach me how to use clay!" She frowned in mock-despair at the blond while him and Kisame chuckled.

"Alright, Sakura. We'll do something soon, I promise, yeah," he grinned, his sapphire eyes shining. She nodded and smiled, thankful that it was so easy to get along with Itachi's friends.

"Are you ready to order?" The group turned at the sound of the waiter's voice, standing there with his leather notepad at the ready.

"Hello Takashi, it's nice to see you again. We'll have the usual, and waters all around," Itachi said before casually waving away the waiter. Sakura looked dumbfounded at the short exchange, having never witnessed something like it in her life. Luckily, Sasori was there to explain things to her.

"Every time we come here we sit in the same seat, have the same waiter, and order the same food. Takashi already knows what Itachi's going to say, but it's a job requirement for him to go to every table," the redhead spoke quietly from across the table, his amber eyes bored as he talked to Sakura. She nodded, turning to look once again at Itachi.

She was learning new things about him everyday.

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And then there was this crazy sexual tension, and Sakura didn't at all understand how it had happened. One minute she was joking with Hidan about how he needed to talk to a professional about his profanity problem, and then the entire atmosphere around her and Itachi had changed. She was certain he felt it to, because just minutes before he had been tracing light circles on her thigh where he stocking met her skin before he stiffened up and pulled his hand away. Sakura didn't know how it had come to be, but all she knew was that it was there and something needed to be done about it now. And she had just the idea in mind.

Pulling her dress down and her stockings up, she stood up, and pushed lightly on Itachi's shoulders. He raised an eyebrow at her actions, silently questioning her.

"Let's go dance!" When he didn't move, she carefully crawled over his lap, giving him an eyeful of her creamy thigh. Once out of the booth, she put her hands on her hips and motioned for him to get up, her eyes pleading. He sighed slightly, before getting up after her. She grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the dance floor. Sakura paid no mind to the rest of the table behind her, though she was positive they were probably saying things abut her.

She led him into the middle of the lit-up floor, the loud music pounding in her ears. Itachi slid behind her, placing his hands on her hips and pressing her back against his chest. She shivered at the close contact, bringing her own arms up to the back of his neck. Sakura realized that, at this angle, Itachi probably had a direct view down her dress at her cleavage, but at this moment she didn't exactly care. Her small fingers curled into the wispy strands of hair that had escaped his ponytail, and she inwardly grinned when she heard him give a sigh of contentment. Itachi's hands slowly began to guide her hips, making them sway in time to the pumping music. When she finally found her rhythm, his hands slid from her hips to the top of her thighs, giving them a gentle squeeze.

Sakura didn't know how long they danced that slow and sexy dance but, though she revelled in it, she decided things need to escalate a little bit. She tipped her head back, locking his dark black-blue eyes with her own green ones. She tilted her chin up, placing a small, feather-light kiss on the edge of his jaw before pulling back to look at his face again. She began to panic when she realized his eyes were unreadable, and she wondered if she had done something wrong.

The negative thoughts she was currently harboring suddenly dispersed when Itachi leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a hot, open-mouthed kiss. Though surprised, she happily opened her mouth to let his tongue initiate a battle for dominance with hers, one she knew he would win. In the back of her mind, Sakura knew it was both indecent and impolite to be engaging in something so blatantly sexual, but she couldn't quite find it in her heart to tell herself to stop.

This kiss was very different from the one in his car before they left. That one was more experimental, something cautious and hesitant. This kiss was hungry and needy and Sakura knew it had to be the effect of all the sexual tension that had transpired between her and Itachi. Her neck was getting a crick from leaning back for so long, but when Itachi's hands began to lightly massage her thighs as he deepened the kiss, she forgot all about the pain. He was making her so wonderful and hot and she was sure she would burst if he didn't do something else.

Conveniently enough, Itachi chose that moment to break the kiss and quickly twist her around so she was now pressed against him chest-to-chest. His arm moved to the small of her back, forcing her to bend back. She gasped at the sudden change in position, about to protest before he began moving again. He bent down to press his lips to her neck, kissing her softly, beginning where her neck met her clavicle. His lips where soft and barely graced her smooth skin, but even the lightest touches were enough to make Sakura's head spin and her body burn. He moved up, lightly sucking on the pulse point of her neck before moving up to her ear. His tongue darted out to trace around the small diamond stud in her ear, before he finally said the words that she had been so anxiously waiting for.

"Why don't we head somewhere quieter?"

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I started a new story, however, it's KakaSaku.

OH MY. It took me so long to update. Afnaujfbajkfbacf sorry loves.

I hope this chapter makes the wait worthwhile.

Sakura hurriedly walked beside Itachi as they left the restaurant, her high heels clicking. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her vibrant hair slightly obscuring her vision. He held her hand tightly, as they speed-walked, his dark hair whipping around his face when the wind would occasionally pick up. Sakura didn't know where exactly Itachi was taking her, but she trusted him enough to not lead her into some alley and rape her or something. She was nervous. And she couldn't help it, dammit. They had just danced in such a blantantly sexual way, she just knew that wherever they were going, it wouldn't just be to talk.

As Sakura allowed her thoughts to wander as Itachi lead her along, she wondered how she could have allowed things to escalate between her and the Uchiha so much in such little time. She was just drawn to him; he always left her wanting more. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that he was beautiful and a wonderful kisser and she could barely keep her hands off him, and he could barely keep his hands off her.

_Yum._

The pinkette was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized that Itachi had stopped, therefore, she had stopped. She looked around curiously, her emerald eyes taking in her current surroundings. They were standing in front of a town house, one Sakura didn't recognize. It looked older, but had obviously been kept immaculate. The red brick was slightly weathered and ivy grew up the side, but the exterior was otherwise perfect. Whoever owned the house had to have a good deal of money, to have a town house in downtown Konoha and be able to landscape it so well.

"This will be my home next year," Itachi spoke quietly as he turned to look at her, gauging her reaction. Sakura's eyes widened at his words. This house is.. his?

"I will be attending the university here, and my parents wished for me to have a place nearby to live on my own," he explained as he saw the wonder in her eyes. "They allow me to use it whenever I like." Sakura nodded her head, the surprise evident on her face. Itachi smirked before carefully pulling on her hand to lead her up the steps, keys in hand. He unlocked the door quickly, and Sakura then found herself enveloped in darkness after being gently pushed in. She felt Itachi's hand leave hers, and was about to protest when, suddenly, a soft light illuminated the home.

"Would you like a tour?" Sakura looked at Itachi as he spoke, his smirk still in place. She nodded, and was once again be lead away by her boyfriend.

"This is the foyer, obviously. Here's the kitchen," he explained, gesturing to his right.

Compared to the kitchen in the Uchiha mansion, this one was tiny. But for just one person while they're busy with studies, it was perfect. It had been decorated in shades of navy, steel, and black. As expected, Itachi had only the finest of kitchen electronics, all stainless steel and impeccably clean. There was a medium-sized glass table to the left of the cooking area, with two matching silver chairs. The LED lights in the room cast everything in a low, blue glow, completing the overall monochromatic color scheme.

"It's lovely, Itachi," Sakura spoke quietly, a small smile of appreciation on her face. He nodded, before moving his hand to the small of her back as he began walking to another part of the house.

She found that Itachi had kept with the blue, gray, and black colors all throughout his house. His living room, office, bathroom, guest room, and art studio were all done in the cool palette. It was modern, classy, and elegant; just like him. The house was wonderfully clean for not being used, and he had explained to her that he was in downtown Konoha once a week, giving him a chance to stop by and touch things up. He also told her that the town house did in fact have a third floor, but his parents had already renovated that part of it for Sasuke when he would attend the university. They were now heading to the second floor, where the 'master bedroom' was located-Itachi's room. Sakura couldn't tell if she was dreading or anticipating being in there, she couldn't seem to quell the nerves that had taken over her stomach.

Itachi opened the large white door, allowing Sakura to enter first. Her eyes widened in astonishment, the room was beautiful. Itachi had chosen the same colors for his bedroom as the rest of the home, which wasn't a surprise. The huge king-size bed was made to perfection, and the dressers were clear of any useless trinkets, save for the Uchiha family picture. There was a door opposite to the bed, no doubt leading to the bathroom and closet. It was like being in a hotel room, everything was kept so pristine.

A warm pair of arms encircled her waist, and she felt Itachi press his nose into her neck. She stiffened at the sudden contact, before relaxing when he pushed his chest up to her back.

"Do you like it?" he asked, while slowly making her hips sway back and forth. His breathing was steady, coming out hot onto her neck.

"Yes, Itachi. You have a gorgeous home," sh replied, and felt him smile against her neck. He pressed soft kisses to the side of her neck as his arms tightened around her waist.

"You know," he talked between kisses, "I didn't quite get the chance to compliment you. I really like your outfit, Sakura."

"Well thank you-"

"It would look better on the floor though," he cut her off, spinning her around so they were chest-to-chest, and smirking at her in what had to be the sexiest way possible. She blinked at his bold words. _Did he mean..?_

Apparently he did.

Sakura then found herself being lead backwards to Itachi's bed, and he lifted her delicate body up onto his soft mattress. She watched through half-lidded eyes as he crawled on top of her, using his arms for leverage so not to crush her. He press his lips to her cheek, moving to kiss along her jaw line. She gave a quiet murmur of pleasure, urging him to continue with his ministrations. He happily obliged, moving his lips to her neck again, his tongue every now and then darting out to tease her sensitive skin.

His hands ran up and down her body, squeezing gently here and there, though never being too rough with her. His soft lips returned to her own once again, gently parting them and letting his tongue explore the cavern of her mouth. She tentatively moved hers with his, slowing down the kiss to a speed she was more comfortable with. Itachi didn't seem to have a problem with that as he brought his hand up to cup the back of her head. Sakura finally moved her arms, bring them up around his neck to bring him closer, pressing him more fulling against her.

It was then that the kiss turned more heated and passionate, as his grip on her head tightened and Sakura moved her hands to cradle his jaw. They broke apart, both breathing heavy, and just stared at each other. Sakura knew her face was flushed, and she felt a small amount of satisfaction seeing that Itachi's face had a slight pink tinge to it as well. His eyes seemed darker as well, no doubt because of the heat of the moment.

And then before Sakura knew what was happening, Itachi's hand moved from where it was resting on her hip, up to the skinny straps of her now-wrinkled black dress. He gingerly slipped the right strap off of her right shoulder, and shifted lower on her body. Now he had better access to the exposed skin of her collar and shoulders. He once again began showering her jaw and neck with hot, open-mouthed kisses, resulting in Sakura letting out a breathy sigh of contentment as her small hands went up to curl into his black locks.

When he pulled away, to look down at her once again, and she noticed how soft and tender his eyes were. Not angry, or hard, or indifferent like normal. Not guarded. He actually looked loving. Caring.

Vulnerable.

Sakura smiled up at him, bringing her hand up to gently caress his face. Itachi, in turn, smiled slightly at her too, before carefully rolling off her body to lay on his side next to her. She gave him a questioning look, she didn't know why he stopped.

"I will not push you, Sakura. I will take things slow for you," he answered her unspoken question, reaching an arm out to take her hand in his.

"Thank you."

Itachi smiled at her, before shifting again to lay his head on her chest while wrapping an arm around her middle. Sakura's eyes widened at her boyfriend's actions, before her face softened. She moved her hand up to his head once again, running her fingers through his smooth, straight hair. Her thin fingers gently massaged his scalp, and she smiled when she heard him groan softly at the sensation. Sakura closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his head, hugging him to her chest while he relaxed. She could honestly say that she was content with him at that moment.

"Stay the night."

Emerald eyes flew open at his words and she sucked in her breath with a barely audible gasp at his words. Stay the night? With Itachi? Sure, she had done it before, but that was prior to when things changed so drastically between them. Before she was his girlfriend. She knew Tsunade wouldn't mind, chances were her guardian was out at some party anyway. Sakura pondered for a few moments, before letting out a quiet sigh.

No regrets, not anymore.

It took another week for Sakura to let Itachi do more than just kiss her neck and lay with her.

It took two weeks after that for her to let him take her shirt off.

Another month after that for him to put his hand beneath the elastic of her shorts.

And now Sakura was sitting at one of the trendy cafe's in downtown Konoha on a Friday evening, getting advice from Ino of all people. She didn't particularly like sharing such details about her life with people, even her best friend, but she knew the blond girl usually had something helpful to say when her best friend was in a pickle. Ino also had more guy experience than her, and she never neglected the need to remind her of that, though as of recently Sakura was beginning to catch up.

Ino sat across from her at the iron table, rhythmically clicking her freshly-manicured nails against the hard surface, her lips pursed in thought. Her turquoise eyes were vibrant as she stared Sakura down, obviously searching for the answer her friend had yet to give her.

"Alright, Forehead, spill already. I know you didn't call me here just to be nice and buy me an espresso. What's going on?" she smirked over the top of her coffee cup when she saw Sakura duck her head.

"Well, you know how I told you about what happened with Itachi and I?" Ino nodded, urging her to continue, "It's just.. I don't know what I should do now." Ino rolled her eyes at her words, earning a harsh glare directed her way. She put her cup down, and leaned across the table so she could whisper to Sakura.

"Do you want things to go further? Because from what you've said, there's not much more you can do before you two have sex," Sakura blinked at how blunt her friend was. Sex? Was that the only direction left to take? She had always thought sex was for two people love each other more than anything, but, did she love Itachi? She wasn't too sure about that. He was wonderful and amazing and perfect in his own sense, but it'd only been a few weeks. She didn't know if things were quite there yet.

Although, Sakura supposed she wouldn't mind if things did go there. Even if she didn't now, she could see at some point in the future growing to love Itachi. He was smart, kind, funny, handsome, and just about everything she ever wanted or needed. His friends were nice to her, and his family even loved her, save for Sasuke of course.

And sex with him would probably be _completely_ mind-blowing.

"Hello? Earth to Sakura?"

She looked up at Ino's voice, embarrassed that she had been spacing out.

"I don't know, Pig. I don't think I'm ready for that yet," she said reluctantly, "I really don't think either of us are ready for that." Ino nodded, resting her chin on her fist as she thought over her friend's words. Sakura mindlessly stirred the straw in her green tea and her lips quirked into a frown.

"You know, Sakura, it took nearly eight months for Shika and I to even talk about doing it. It would be taking your relationship to a completely different level. I mean, there are people who date for a year or two, have sex, and then it causes huge problems for the couple. It's really not just a physical thing for most people, it changes you a lot emotionally. It could bring the two of you closer, but it could also lead to lots of anxiety on both parts. Shika and I were lucky, we didn't have any negative feelings after we did it. But we've also been together a really long time, and love each other more than anything. I think if things between you and Itachi went that far now, you'd experience a lot of heartache."

"Wow," Sakura replied in awe, surprised at her friend's hidden wisdom, "I had no idea about any of that Ino."

"Well, I just wanted to give it to your straight, girl," the blond explained, idly tracing her freshly-manicured nail across the intricate designs of the iron. She looked back up at Sakura with piercing teal eyes, her expression serious, "I don't want you to make a huge mistake, that's all. Sex and love are amazing, but they don't always going hand in hand. Just be smart about what you do, okay?"

"Thanks Pig, I knew I could count on you," Sakura smiled warmly at her best friend.

"Anytime babe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I actually have to run; I'm meeting Shika in a little bit for a movie and dinner later. See ya girl!"

Sakura waved bye to her friend, happy that she had received the much-needed advice. She brought her elbow up to the table to rest her face in her palm, casually glancing around at her current setting. Her and Ino had decided to sit on the outdoor patio at the cafe, along with a great number of other people, because the weather was just that fantastic.

She rolled over in her mind what she was going to do. It was almost November now, so it'd been how long? Two months? She didn't think she was ready for sex. She didn't think she was ready for love. Dear God, how much did she actually know about Itachi and his life? His past? His plans for the future? Sakura felt anxiety creep up on her as she realized that something had to change.

And that was how next day, Sakura found herself on the doorstep of the Uchiha mansion. She nervously fingered the ends of flat-ironed hair as she waited for the door to open and one of the residents to let her in. The day before she had treated herself to a mani-pedi and bought the ultramarine dress she was currently wearing, in hopes that it would give her some confidence. She was going over what she wanted to say to Itachi, and how she was going to approach such a subject. Obviously she wouldn't come right out and ask about sex, but she was hoping to casually hint towards the subject.

Sakura's thoughts were broken by the sound of the mahogany door swinging open, and she looked up to see Sasuke glaring at her. She blinked in surprise and opened her mouth to explain her presence being there when he interrupted.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely, scowling down at her, "Oh wait!" he mock-laughed, "You're probably here to fuck my brother some more." She gasped, stung by his words.

"Sasuke, no, you don't understa-"

"Oh, believe me Sakura, I understand. You might think you know him, but you really don't. He doesn't care about you."

"No, seriously, you don't understand Sasuke. Itachi's really important to me, and I'm important to him too."

He laughed bitterly again, and she was shocked to see the anger evident in his eyes, "Do you really think that? Please tell me you're not that naive. He's only going to hurt you, he's not capable of love. If you know what's good for you, you'll end things now before he breaks your heart."

Sakura shook her head vigorously as her vibrant eyes began to fill with tears.

"N-No.. You're lying.."

"Am I?" Sasuke replied, cocking his head to the side, "I've known and lived with him my entire life, Sakura. I know what he's like." He stepped down from where he was inside the doorway so he was eye-level with her. The Uchiha smirked at her arrogantly, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek delicately. She trembled under his touch and refused to meet his obsidian eyes.

"Trust me, cherry, you don't want things between the two of you to go any further," Sasuke leaned his head towards hers more, and his lips nearly brushed her ear as he spoke, "I'm sure I can do the same things for you as he can. Isn't that what you've always wanted? Me? And I can even give you what he can't."

"A-And what's that, Sasuke?" her barely-audible voice shook as she talked. Her arms felt like dead weights; she just couldn't bring herself to push him away even though every sense she had was telling her to do so.

"_Love_. I can give you the love I know you've always craved. Isn't that the reason why you pursued me first?" Sakura's eyes widened at his words. _Nononono_, she didn't want those memories to come back.

"Sakura?"

She looked up at the sound of her name, and felt herself begin to shake more when she saw Itachi standing in the doorway, an eyebrow cocked. Sasuke stepped away from her, that damn smirk on his face and he watched the situation unfold. Between his words and his brother suddenly showing up, he knew she was affected.

"I-Itachi," she cursed herself for stuttering again, "I'm sorry. I need to go." Then, as quickly as she could, Sakura turned on her heel and ran down the cobblestone sidewalk, her black oxfords making light tapping noises as she went. Tsunade had driven her over, and she had no way of getting back home but that wasn't something that registered with her as she ran from the Uchiha's property. She ran as far and as fast as she could, not caring where she ended up, she just needed to get away.

Back at the mansion, the two brothers watched as Sakura fled, her pink hair blowing wildly in the November wind. Sasuke turned to look smugly at Itachi, taking pride in seeing how furious his older sibling was. In fact, he looked absolutely livid.

"What did you say to her?" Itachi asked, his seemingly indifferent voice barely containing his anger. Sasuke knew, to anyone else, his voice would sound as collected as it always did. However, after living with his brother for so long, he knew that he was angry and probably just about anything he could say would make him burst.

"What makes you think I said anything? All I did was open the door for her."

"Don't bullshit me Sasuke, I'm smarter than that and you know it." The younger Uchiha tried his best not to grin as his brother allowed some of his control slip. He chose not to provoke him more, and settled on telling him what had happened.

"I told her the truth."

Sasuke smiled as Itachi's eyes narrowed, and then pushed past him to return to his room.

It was only a matter of time before Sakura came running back to him.

"Sakura."

Said girl rolled over in her bed at the quiet voice saying her name. It was three in the morning on a Monday, though she She mumbled something incoherent about "five more minutes" and pressed her face into her fluffy down pillow, wishing whoever kept speaking would shut the hell up.

"Sakura, please, wake up."

Wait a minute.. She knew that voice. That luscious, velvety smooth voice that could reduce her to a puddle. Itachi. Dammit! She didn't want to see him! She wasn't ready, not after everything Sasuke had said. She had hoped to wait until school after school that day to talk to him. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to sneak into her room in the middle of the damn night to try and figure things out!

"Come on, Sakura. I know you're awake," his voice sounded desperate now. She would have snorted in disbelief if she wasn't so tired. Itachi? Desperate? Fat chance. He was always having people be desperate for him, she was doubtful that things ever reversed. "Please Sakura, I don't know what Sasuke told you, but please let me talk to you."

Okay, he was really begging now.

Sakura finally rolled back over onto her back, lifting her arms above her head and pointing her toes as she stretched. A sigh of contentment escaped her lips as she felt her back crack and she yawned quietly before opening her bleary eyes to look at Itachi. She noticed as his eyes flicked to where her camisole had ridden up to expose the flat plane of her stomach, and she cleared her throat softly to gain his attention again. He looked back up at her and leaned forward, slinging an arm around her neck to pull her flush against his chest. His long hair wasn't pulled back, and instead tickled her bare back and shoulders. Itachi buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply as his thumb rubbed small circles on the side of her neck.

"What are you doing here Itachi?" she questioned quietly while she forced herself not to get lost in his wonderful, masculine scent. He pulled back to look at her, his navy eyes slightly obscured by his long bangs.

"I just want to know what Sasuke told you that made you leave. You must have come to my house for something, am I right?"

The rosette girl refused to meet his eyes, "I would rather not talk about it."

"No, Sakura, we need to talk about it. You're upset, don't try to hide that from me."

"Then don't hide your life from me!"

Itachi looked taken aback at her words, and she was surprised herself that she had said such a thing. "I.. I'm sorry. That was out of line. I'm know you just want to know what's going on."

He frowned at her, "No, it's fine. What do you mean, I'm hiding my life from you? That's why you came to my house today, isn't it?" Sakura nodded as she picked at the fuzz that had accumulated on her comforter.

"What aren't you telling me, Itachi? Sasuke told me I would only get hurt if I stayed with you, and he must be talking from past experiences. I mean, God, what do I even know about you? We've been together for two months and I feel like I'm with a stranger!" Itachi stared at her, and she felt her face flame in shame at talking so harshly towards him. He covered his mouth with his hand as he rolled her words over in his head. She watched him and how his expression would change only slightly as he thought. After what must have been five minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"From the time I was young I've been under extreme pressure from my father. He only wanted the best for me, and wanted me to be the best. He worked me hard in school and sports and wanted me to be success of Konoha and take over his business when I grew up. When I was seven, he was teaching me geometry and biology. When I was eleven, I was learning Algebra and starting chemistry. By the time I reached high school, there weren't very many core classes I was able to take because I had tested out of most of them. I had to fill my schedule up with something, and so I loaded up on visual arts and two days a week I began attending classes at the university."

"And I thought Shikamaru was a genius," Sakura murmured, her emerald eyes wide in amazement, "What about AP classes? Did you ever take those?"

Itachi nodded, "During middle school I took some, and the summer before my freshman year I tested out of most of them. Anyways, that's what I did. And it's how I met my friends too, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori; all of them. They weren't in the same situation as me-they only took a one or two subjects at the university, but we were all the same and it's how we became friends."

"But what about Sasuke? How does he fit into all of this?"

"My father favored me, and my mother favored Sasuke. When he was younger, he was sensitive and I often didn't have time to be his brother. As the two of us grew up, we didn't get along and he became bitter about being 'second place', and he struggled to compete and keep up with me. That's why he left. He couldn't handle it that well, and was desperate to be better. It's how he dealt with the pressure," Itachi spoke quietly, and he almost seemed pained about recalling his memories.

"So," Sakura started, thinking carefully before she said something stupid, "How did you deal with it?"

Itachi took a deep breath and closed his eyes before continuing, "The art at school was a good way to relax. I was still learning, like my dad wanted, but it was almost like therapy for me; it helped me understand why Deidara and Sasori love it so much. It still wasn't enough though. I was frustrated and overwhelmed, so I did what every other angst-filled teenager does. Starting my sophomore year I smoked, I drank, and I flirted with girls. It wasn't healthy and, looking back, it didn't really help. It was right before my senior year that I decided to stop with it, because I just knew it would ruin me and everything I'd worked for in so many ways."

"But weren't you flirting with me?" Sakura asked, her mind reeling as she realized that Ino was right about Itachi being into drugs.

"You were different, Sakura," he replied honestly, taking her hand in his, "I'd seen you, and we'd shared an art class, and you just struck me. It was rather lucky that we got placed together in class again this year, and I was looking forward to getting to know you better. I didn't think things would end up how they are, but I'm happy. And being with you makes all the work seem not so unbearable."

Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, finally letting herself breathe him in fully. "Thank you, Itachi," she whispered, pressing her lips to his cheek softly.

"I understand why you would be concerned about me, I'm sure you've heard plenty of things about me. But I won't hurt you, and I really do care about you. Please don't let Sasuke convince you otherwise,"

"I won't," she promised, wrapping her skinny arms around his middle and laying her head on his chest. He stroked her hair gently, savoring the moment before he spoke again.

"Listen, I know this might make you uncomfortable, but what's your history with my brother? I'm under the impression that something happened between the two of you," he said as he pulled her up to sit in his lap.

Sakura froze. _What did he just say?_ She didn't want to talk about this, but she knew it would have happened one day. It didn't really concern him, but Itachi had the right to know, she supposed. If he relived his past, she would have to too.

"Alright, Itachi, I'll tell you."

R&R s'il vous plait.


End file.
